Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 6.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 331,801 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,217 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $29,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Prudent Investors Network Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the third quarter worth about $211,000. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren by 4.2% during the third quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ameren by 5.4% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 45,691 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,996,000 after buying an additional 2,322 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ameren by 6.2% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 146,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,837,000 after buying an additional 8,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. boosted its holdings in Ameren by 13.8% during the third quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 18,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,601,000 after buying an additional 2,211 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of AEE opened at $92.03 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $24.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.78, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.21. Ameren Co. has a 1 year low of $67.03 and a 1 year high of $92.77.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren’s payout ratio is 63.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. 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 on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Friday, July 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho raised shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.80.

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.