The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 6.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 588,943 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 42,663 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.22% of Ameren worth $51,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 106.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,498,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $177,644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286,162 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 6.7% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,954,962 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $139,017,000 after purchasing an additional 123,427 shares during the period. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 38,750 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 1.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,653,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $144,619,000 after purchasing an additional 30,511 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 8,645.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,160,998 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,015,410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147,723 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Ameren from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.90.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $598,975.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,906,507.65. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of AEE opened at $94.98 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.35 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren Co. has a 1 year low of $67.03 and a 1 year high of $95.69. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.81.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.