Empirical Finance LLC Has $777,000 Stock Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 1.5% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 8,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $745,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems boosted its stake in Ameren by 0.6% during the second quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 20,095 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,429,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC grew its holdings in Ameren by 4.2% in the third quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 115.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $131,923.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. This represents a 3.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Ameren stock opened at $91.22 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $87.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $24.35 billion, a PE ratio of 21.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren Co. has a 1 year low of $67.03 and a 1 year high of $92.77.

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 paid a $0.67 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 63.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AEE. Bank of America upped their price target on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.80.

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.