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

Field & Main Bank cut its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 19.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 350 shares during the quarter. Field & Main Bank’s holdings in Ameren were worth $127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 18,064 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased 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 valued at $1,382,000 after buying an additional 15,484 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in 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. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in Ameren during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,632,000. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho raised shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameren presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.80.

Ameren Trading Up 4.2 %

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

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,640,758.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.