Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Sold by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Hartford Investment Management Co. reduced its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 291 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $1,463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Ameren during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its position in Ameren by 117.6% in the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Ameren during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Ameren by 108.1% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group started coverage on Ameren in a report on Friday, July 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Argus raised shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of Ameren 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,640,758.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Price Performance

AEE opened at $87.80 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $85.25 and a 200-day moving average of $77.89. 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 $89.54.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 16.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren’s payout ratio is presently 61.61%.

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.