Bank of Montreal Can Purchases 185,173 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 49.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 556,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 185,173 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Ameren were worth $48,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AEE. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 10.8% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren in the first quarter worth about $605,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Ameren during the first quarter worth approximately $333,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Ameren by 4.9% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,976 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in Ameren by 12.0% during the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 15,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,671 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Trading Up 0.8 %

AEE opened at $94.98 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $25.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $88.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.71. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $95.69.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors 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 2.82%. Ameren’s payout ratio is 63.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on AEE. Argus raised Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.90.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $598,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,906,507.65. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.