Field & Main Bank Reduces Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Field & Main Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 350 shares during the period. Field & Main Bank’s holdings in Ameren were worth $127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Ameren by 493.0% during the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 18,064 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Ameren by 392.0% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 19,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,382,000 after acquiring an additional 15,484 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Ameren by 137.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 100,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,407,000 after acquiring an additional 57,923 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Ameren during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,632,000. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its stake in Ameren by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 172,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,754,000 after acquiring an additional 25,898 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Price Performance

Ameren stock opened at $90.19 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $90.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company’s 50 day moving average is $86.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.02.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AEE shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Argus upgraded shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. 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. Mizuho upgraded shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of 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 assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.80.

About Ameren

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.