Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Has $2.20 Million Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 38.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 24,367 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,803 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $2,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,684 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Ameren by 11.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares during the period. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth about $234,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,882 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $864,000 after buying an additional 894 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 138.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 4,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 2,578 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Ameren news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the 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 completion of 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of Ameren stock opened at $97.09 on Monday. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $67.03 and a 52 week high of $97.37. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $91.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.76. The company has a market cap of $25.92 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.49.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren’s payout ratio is presently 63.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on AEE. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $88.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.00.

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.