Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Purchased by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 33.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,034,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 258,858 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.39% of Ameren worth $90,447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Ameren by 25.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 22,931,588 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,696,022,000 after buying an additional 4,593,638 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 204.3% in the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 3,827,897 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $283,111,000 after acquiring an additional 2,569,897 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 106.1% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,498,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $177,644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286,162 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,954,962 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $139,017,000 after acquiring an additional 123,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maple Brown Abbott Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 2.3% in the second quarter. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd now owns 1,753,270 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $124,675,000 after purchasing an additional 38,750 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. This trade represents a 3.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Ameren Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE AEE opened at $92.24 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $24.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.02. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $92.77.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Mizuho raised Ameren from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Argus raised Ameren to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. One equities 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, Ameren has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.80.

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.