Assetmark Inc. Buys 272 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 272 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the third quarter valued at about $408,000. Droms Strauss Advisors Inc. MO ADV bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the third quarter worth approximately $225,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 6.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 331,801 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,019,000 after purchasing an additional 19,217 shares during the last quarter. Prudent Investors Network Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at about $211,000. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Ameren stock opened at $91.22 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $87.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.61. The company has a market cap of $24.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.46, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.45. 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 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $92.77.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at $3,640,758.08. The trade was a 3.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on AEE. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho upgraded Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned 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 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.