Country Trust Bank Buys 993 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Country Trust Bank boosted its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 99.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 993 shares during the quarter. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in Ameren were worth $178,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 8,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $745,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 4.2% during the third quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 1.7% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $797,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 10,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 205,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,906,507.65. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of AEE stock opened at $94.20 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $25.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.48. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $96.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company’s 50 day moving average is $91.28 and its 200 day moving average is $86.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on AEE shares. Barclays downgraded Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameren has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.00.

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.