Empowered Funds LLC Has $378,000 Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Empowered Funds LLC cut its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 75.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,318 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 13,469 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Ameren were worth $378,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AEE. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in Ameren by 2.2% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,880 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $777,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ameren during the third quarter worth $206,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Ameren by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 45,416 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,972,000 after purchasing an additional 2,957 shares during the last quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co bought a new stake in Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at $525,000. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in Ameren by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 8,513 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $745,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Ameren from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Ameren in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.90.

Ameren Price Performance

AEE stock traded up $0.72 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $94.25. 803,565 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,588,508. The stock has a market cap of $25.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $94.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.61.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren's payout ratio is currently 63.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the company'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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. This represents a 3.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $598,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,906,507.65. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Ameren

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.