Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 726,438 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 3,738.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 745,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 726,438 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.28% of Ameren worth $65,234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 115.3% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Ameren in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Ameren by 117.6% during the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Ameren during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 108.1% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE AEE traded down $1.21 during trading on Friday, reaching $87.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 772,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,587,572. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.41 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren Co. has a 1-year low of $67.03 and a 1-year high of $89.54. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $85.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.89.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 10.20%. Ameren's quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total transaction of $131,923.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho upgraded Ameren from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ameren currently 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.