Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Sold by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,342 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,079 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $2,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 392.0% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 19,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,382,000 after acquiring an additional 15,484 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,417,000. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,632,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 137.2% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 100,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,407,000 after buying an additional 57,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindenwold Advisors INC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren in the third quarter worth about $1,682,000. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at $3,640,758.08. This represents a 3.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total transaction of $598,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares in the company, valued at $18,906,507.65. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AEE shares. Mizuho raised Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Ameren from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.90.

Ameren Price Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $93.81 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $88.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.29. Ameren Co. has a 12 month low of $67.03 and a 12 month high of $94.46. The firm has a market cap of $25.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.06%.

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.