US Bancorp DE Cuts Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

US Bancorp DE lessened its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 9.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,703 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 10,009 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE's holdings in Ameren were worth $8,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 2.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,092,435 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,447,516,000 after acquiring an additional 802,714 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Ameren by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 22,931,588 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,696,022,000 after purchasing an additional 4,593,638 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP lifted its holdings in Ameren by 204.3% during the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 3,827,897 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $283,111,000 after buying an additional 2,569,897 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ameren by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,877,721 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $212,836,000 after buying an additional 23,967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 106.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,498,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $177,644,000 after buying an additional 1,286,162 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Trading Up 0.2 %

AEE traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $86.02. 1,808,209 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,581,705. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $67.03 and a 52 week high of $89.54. 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 fifty day moving average of $85.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 16.28%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.61 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren's payout ratio is 60.63%.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AEE. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. UBS Group initiated coverage on Ameren in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $87.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Ameren in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Mizuho raised Ameren from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.80.

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.