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

Eastern Bank reduced its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 64.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing 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 period. Eastern Bank's holdings in Ameren were worth $1,510,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 35.0% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,263 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $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 third quarter worth $257,000. Powers Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the third quarter worth $226,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 7.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 129,727 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,346,000 after buying an additional 8,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 77.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,410 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 1,489 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Friday, July 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $87.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.80.

Ameren Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE AEE traded up $1.44 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $89.20. 922,595 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,594,682. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $23.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.45. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $85.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.82. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $67.03 and a 12-month high of $89.21.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. Ameren had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren's payout ratio is currently 61.61%.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,640,758.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

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.