Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $1,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. InvesTrust purchased a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter worth approximately $359,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $595,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,064,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,134,000 after purchasing an additional 362,772 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Ameren by 6.1% in the 3rd 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 period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameren presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $598,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares in the company, valued at $18,906,507.65. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $91.04 on Thursday. 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 twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $95.69. The stock has a market cap of $24.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $90.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.11.

Ameren Company 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.