Advisors Asset Management Inc. Sells 758 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 9.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 758 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AEE. PEAK6 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 1st quarter worth about $605,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 1st quarter worth about $333,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Ameren by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,976 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in Ameren by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 15,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,151,000 after purchasing an additional 1,671 shares during the period. Finally, Beck Bode LLC raised its position in Ameren by 39.2% in the 1st quarter. Beck Bode LLC now owns 162,686 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,032,000 after purchasing an additional 45,834 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AEE. Mizuho raised shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, September 16th. 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 report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameren has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.90.

Insider Activity

In other Ameren 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,171 shares in the company, 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 at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Price Performance

NYSE 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $88.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.71. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $95.69. The company has a market cap 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 Announces Dividend

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