Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Purchases 5,865 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 50.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,564 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,865 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Ameren were worth $1,519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,750 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $943,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Ameren by 3.9% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 65,045 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,811,000 after purchasing an additional 2,424 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Ameren by 30.4% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 345,434 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,548,000 after acquiring an additional 80,599 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 413.6% during the 1st quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 15,296 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 12,318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,670 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 804 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of AEE stock traded down $1.23 during trading on Friday, hitting $85.88. 1,884,615 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,580,636. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $85.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.67. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $89.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. Ameren had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company 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 company earned $0.90 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Ameren's payout ratio is 60.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AEE shares. Bank of America increased their target price on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Argus raised shares of Ameren to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Mizuho raised Ameren from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.80.

Insider Activity

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.