Empire Life Investments Inc. Has $17.01 Million Stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Empire Life Investments Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 45.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 194,489 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 163,873 shares during the period. Empire Life Investments Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Ameren worth $17,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 13.5% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $749,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New bought a new position in Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at $238,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in shares of Ameren by 63.2% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 10,027 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $877,000 after purchasing an additional 3,883 shares during the period. Edge Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at $243,000. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 20,994 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,869,000 after buying an additional 475 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. 1,884,620 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,269,065. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $85.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.60. 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 19.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.45. 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 (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.61 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. Ameren's payout ratio is 60.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEE has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays raised their target price on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho raised shares of 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 research note on Monday, September 16th. Argus upgraded shares of Ameren to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the firm's 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 approximately $3,640,758.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

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.