Martingale Asset Management L P Reduces Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Martingale Asset Management L P lessened its stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Ameren were worth $624,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AEE. FMR LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $230,158,000 after buying an additional 984,879 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 106.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,498,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $177,644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286,162 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Ameren by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,954,962 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $139,017,000 after purchasing an additional 123,427 shares during the last quarter. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd boosted its stake in Ameren by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd now owns 1,753,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $124,675,000 after purchasing an additional 38,750 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Ameren by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,653,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $144,619,000 after purchasing an additional 30,511 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AEE shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Ameren from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research report 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ameren currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.78.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $92.87 on Tuesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $95.69. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.16. The stock has a market cap of $24.79 billion, a PE ratio of 21.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

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 $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.06%.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In other news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $598,975.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,171 shares in the company, valued at $18,906,507.65. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.