Jennison Associates LLC Grows Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 33.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,034,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 258,858 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned 0.39% of Ameren worth $90,447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Ameren by 115.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 108.1% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ameren by 227.3% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In related 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 transaction of $131,923.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,640,758.08. This trade represents a 3.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ameren Stock Up 0.1 %

AEE opened at $92.24 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $92.77. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $87.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued 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 2.91%. Ameren’s payout ratio is 63.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AEE shares. Mizuho upgraded Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Argus upgraded shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameren currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.