Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Buys 2,561 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,671 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,561 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Ameren were worth $2,682,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren by 15.9% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 6,282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 860 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Ameren by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,367 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,044,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares during the period. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Brady Family Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $215,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Trading Up 0.6 %

AEE opened at $88.84 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Ameren Co. has a 12 month low of $67.03 and a 12 month high of $88.90. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.52.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 16.28%. Ameren’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group started coverage on Ameren in a research note on Friday, July 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $131,923.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ameren 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.