National Pension Service Sells 16,620 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

National Pension Service lowered its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 4.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 381,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 16,620 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.14% of Ameren worth $33,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Ameren by 115.3% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the second quarter worth $26,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 108.1% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 227.3% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. 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 have commented on AEE shares. Bank of America increased their price target on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total transaction of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,640,758.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of AEE opened at $87.78 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $86.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.85. The company has a market capitalization of $23.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $89.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.63%.

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.