Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 19,856 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 4.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 406,717 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 19,856 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $35,571,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 115.3% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Ameren in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Ameren in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its stake in 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 during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $131,923.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,640,758.08. This represents a 3.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AEE. Argus upgraded Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Mizuho raised shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.80.

Ameren Stock Up 1.7 %

Ameren stock opened at $91.22 on Friday. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $92.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.35 billion, a PE ratio of 21.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50-day moving average is $87.15 and its 200-day moving average is $79.61. 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is 63.06%.

Ameren Company 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.