Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Bought by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $697,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Ameren by 115.3% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Ameren in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its position in Ameren by 117.6% in the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ameren Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE AEE opened at $85.62 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $80.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.67. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $85.85. The stock has a market cap of $22.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AEE shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameren presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.00.

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.