Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Grows Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 193,962 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,120 shares during the quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Ameren worth $16,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Ameren by 115.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Ameren during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Ameren in the first quarter worth about $31,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its position in Ameren by 108.1% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Ameren by 227.3% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. This represents a 3.50 % decrease in their position. 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Argus raised shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Mizuho raised shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays lifted 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.80.

Ameren Price Performance

AEE stock opened at $91.22 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $92.77. The stock has a market cap of $24.35 billion, a PE ratio of 21.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.68.

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 $0.67 dividend. 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 2.94%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.