Drive Wealth Management LLC Purchases Shares of 2,850 Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Drive Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,850 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 25.0% in the first 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 buying an additional 4,593,638 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 204.3% during the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 3,827,897 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $283,111,000 after acquiring an additional 2,569,897 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ameren by 106.1% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,498,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $177,644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286,162 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Ameren by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,954,962 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $139,017,000 after purchasing an additional 123,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maple Brown Abbott Ltd raised its holdings in Ameren by 2.3% in the second quarter. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd now owns 1,753,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $124,675,000 after acquiring an additional 38,750 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Mizuho raised Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Argus upgraded shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.80.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ameren Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Ameren stock opened at $92.35 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $67.03 and a 12-month high of $92.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.65 billion, a PE ratio of 21.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $87.30 and its 200-day moving average is $79.80.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.06%.

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.