D.A. Davidson & CO. Lowers Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

D.A. Davidson & CO. cut its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 3.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,526 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $3,300,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 49.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 556,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,168,000 after purchasing an additional 185,173 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth $8,538,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 39,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,453,000 after purchasing an additional 3,584 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth $248,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 117.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 21,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,911,000 after purchasing an additional 11,802 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on AEE. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America increased their target price on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays increased their target price on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Mizuho raised Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.90.

Ameren Trading Up 0.8 %

AEE opened at $94.98 on Friday. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $95.69. The company has a market cap of $25.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.35, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.45. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $88.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.81.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 63.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 205,171 shares in the company, valued at $18,906,507.65. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.