Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Trims Stock Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 0.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,949,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,286 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Ameren were worth $170,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AEE. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 22.9% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,297 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $540,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361 shares during the last quarter. Natixis acquired a new position in Ameren in the 1st quarter valued at about $91,000. Shell Asset Management Co. raised its stake in Ameren by 183.4% in the 1st quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 7,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $565,000 after purchasing an additional 4,946 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Ameren by 108.1% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of AEE stock opened at $93.80 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $94.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $88.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.25. The stock has a market cap of $25.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their price target on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Bank of America raised their price target on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.90.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In other news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total transaction of $598,975.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total transaction of $131,923.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. The trade was a 3.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.