Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Sold by Eastern Bank

Eastern Bank reduced its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 64.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,268 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 30,709 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank's holdings in Ameren were worth $1,510,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ameren by 35.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,263 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $985,000 after buying an additional 2,923 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $257,000. Powers Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $226,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Ameren by 7.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 129,727 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,346,000 after acquiring an additional 8,540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Ameren by 77.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,410 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE AEE traded up $0.73 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $88.49. 25,712 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,590,235. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $67.03 and a 12-month high of $89.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $84.93 and a 200 day moving average of $77.74. The company has a market cap of $23.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.87 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 16.28%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $87.00 price objective on the stock. Argus raised Ameren to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.80.

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.