Schrum Private Wealth Management LLC Boosts Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Schrum Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 89.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,558 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,451 shares during the period. Schrum Private Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $1,011,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 493.0% during the first 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. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 15,484 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 2nd quarter worth $2,632,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 137.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 100,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,407,000 after buying an additional 57,923 shares during the period. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 17.7% during the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 172,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,754,000 after buying an additional 25,898 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at $3,640,758.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE:AEE traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $91.67. 425,152 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,588,559. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $92.77. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $86.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. 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 2.92%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on AEE. Mizuho upgraded shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Argus upgraded Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ameren currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.80.

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.