Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Increases Stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 146,775 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,573 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned 0.06% of Ameren worth $12,837,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AEE. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 115.3% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Ameren during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Ameren during the first quarter valued at $31,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 108.1% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ameren by 227.3% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Argus raised shares of Ameren to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Ameren in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $87.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameren has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.80.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total transaction of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at $3,640,758.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ameren Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:AEE traded down $1.22 on Thursday, reaching $86.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,826,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,588,033. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $67.03 and a 12-month high of $89.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $86.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.85. The firm has a market cap of $23.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.91 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.21 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 10.20%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Ameren's payout ratio is currently 60.63%.

Ameren Profile

Ameren Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois Electric Distribution, Ameren Illinois Natural Gas, and Ameren Transmission. It engages in the rate-regulated electric generation, transmission, and distribution activities; and rate-regulated natural gas distribution business.