Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Invests $206,000 in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Ameren by 7.0% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 45,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,972,000 after purchasing an additional 2,957 shares during the period. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at $525,000. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position 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 worth $745,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Schrum Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 89.3% in the 3rd quarter. Schrum Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,558 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,011,000 after acquiring an additional 5,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Ameren by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 5,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 934 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total transaction of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,640,758.08. This represents a 3.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Argus upgraded shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ameren currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.80.

Ameren Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:AEE opened at $91.22 on Friday. The company has a market cap 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. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.65. Ameren Co. has a 12 month low of $67.03 and a 12 month high of $92.77.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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%.

Ameren Company 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.