Blue Trust Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 51.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,751 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the third quarter valued at about $44,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 134.5% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the third quarter valued at approximately $74,000. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $598,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,171 shares in the company, valued at $18,906,507.65. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ameren Stock Performance

AEE stock opened at $94.15 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.13 billion, a PE ratio of 22.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $67.03 and a 12-month high of $96.74. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEE has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays cut Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameren has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.00.

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.