Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Purchases 2,120 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 193,962 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,120 shares during the quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $16,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ameren by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,092,435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,447,516,000 after buying an additional 802,714 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Ameren by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 22,931,588 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,696,022,000 after purchasing an additional 4,593,638 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP raised its holdings in Ameren by 204.3% in the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 3,827,897 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $283,111,000 after purchasing an additional 2,569,897 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ameren by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,877,721 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $212,836,000 after purchasing an additional 23,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Ameren by 106.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,498,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $177,644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286,162 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total transaction of $131,923.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. This trade represents a 3.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on AEE shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.80.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $91.22 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $87.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.68. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $92.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.35 billion, a PE ratio of 21.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.