Pathway Financial Advisers LLC Buys 36,593 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 8,630.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,017 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 36,593 shares during the quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC's holdings in Ameren were worth $3,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AEE. Kentucky Retirement Systems grew its position in shares of Ameren by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 20,095 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,429,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its position in Ameren by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 9,803 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners raised its holdings in Ameren by 52.8% during the 1st quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 550 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 115.3% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 117.6% in the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Friday, July 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $87.00 target price on the stock. Argus upgraded Ameren to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays raised their target price on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ameren 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 transaction 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ameren Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE AEE traded down $1.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $87.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 772,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,587,572. The company has a market capitalization of $23.41 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $67.03 and a 52 week high of $89.54. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $85.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.99.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.69 billion for 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%. Ameren's quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend 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%.

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.