Commerce Bank Acquires 769 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Commerce Bank boosted its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 161,855 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 769 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Ameren were worth $14,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AEE. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 14.1% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 57,721 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,048,000 after acquiring an additional 7,112 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the third quarter worth about $1,007,000. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the third quarter worth about $233,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 7.3% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 31,943 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,794,000 after acquiring an additional 2,182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindenwold Advisors INC bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the third quarter worth about $1,682,000. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price 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. Mizuho raised shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Finally, 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. One equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.80.

Ameren Price Performance

Ameren stock opened at $92.24 on Thursday. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $92.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.02. 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 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 dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. This trade represents a 3.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.