Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Acquired by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $745,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Ameren by 392.0% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 19,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,382,000 after purchasing an additional 15,484 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Ameren in the third quarter valued at $1,417,000. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Ameren in the second quarter valued at $2,632,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings 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 worth $7,407,000 after purchasing an additional 57,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its position 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 worth $12,754,000 after purchasing an additional 25,898 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were 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 owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at $3,640,758.08. This trade represents a 3.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of AEE opened at $91.22 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.35 billion, a PE ratio of 21.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $87.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.68. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $92.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren’s payout ratio is 63.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised their price target on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Argus upgraded shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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.