Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 9,492 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,900,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,492 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $165,844,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in Ameren by 1.5% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 8,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $745,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 0.6% in the second 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 last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 4.2% in the third quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 1.4% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 9,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $697,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 1.7% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $797,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Ameren 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 completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Mizuho upgraded 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. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.89.

Ameren Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE AEE opened at $89.84 on Monday. 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 twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $95.69. The company has a market cap of $23.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s fifty day moving average is $89.88 and its 200 day moving average is $82.34.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren’s payout ratio is presently 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.