FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co Makes New $525,000 Investment in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co bought a new position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $525,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 4.6% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,308 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $393,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in shares of Ameren by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 311,729 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $23,055,000 after acquiring an additional 15,269 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 327,284 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $24,206,000 after acquiring an additional 58,557 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 8.6% during the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 18,428 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,363,000 after purchasing an additional 1,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in Ameren by 5.6% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 4,731 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. This represents a 3.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective 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. Mizuho raised Ameren from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Argus raised shares of Ameren to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Friday, July 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $87.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.80.

Ameren Price Performance

Ameren stock traded up $1.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $91.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 647,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,596,650. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $92.77. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $86.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.06%.

Ameren Company 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.