76,410 Shares in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Purchased by Weiss Asset Management LP

Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 76,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,683,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 8,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $745,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 20,095 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,429,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ameren by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in Ameren by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 9,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Ameren by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $797,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total transaction of $598,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,906,507.65. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ameren Price Performance

NYSE AEE opened at $91.81 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $67.03 and a 12-month high of $95.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.48.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 2.92%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AEE. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Ameren from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. 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 target price for the company. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, September 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.00.

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.