Dean Investment Associates LLC Reduces Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Dean Investment Associates LLC lowered its stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 3.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,234 shares during the quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $3,521,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Ameren in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the third quarter worth about $44,000. American National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Ameren during the third quarter worth approximately $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AEE. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Ameren in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised 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. Mizuho upgraded Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Ameren from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.00.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the business’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 directly owns 205,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,906,507.65. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ameren Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of AEE stock opened at $91.79 on Friday. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $95.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $89.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.60. The stock has a market cap of $24.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.48. 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 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 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 (DPR) is 63.06%.

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.