Eastern Bank Sells 30,709 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Eastern Bank cut its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 64.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,268 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 30,709 shares during the period. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Ameren were worth $1,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ameren by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $985,000 after buying an additional 2,923 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren during the third quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Powers Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 129,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,346,000 after buying an additional 8,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 77.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 1,489 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America upped their price target on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Mizuho upgraded shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Friday, July 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Argus raised Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.80.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of AEE stock opened at $87.76 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.67 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 $89.08. The firm has a market cap of $23.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $84.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.74.

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

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.61%.

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.