Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 920 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 6.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 920 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $1,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,092,435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,447,516,000 after purchasing an additional 802,714 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of 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 stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,569,897 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Ameren by 0.8% in the first 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 raised its stake in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. This trade represents a 3.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Argus raised Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Mizuho raised Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.80.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE AEE opened at $89.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $23.95 billion, a PE ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.42. Ameren Co. has a 1-year low of $67.03 and a 1-year high of $92.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.06%.

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.