Reaves W H & Co. Inc. Purchases 510,192 Shares of Ameren Corporation $AEE

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) by 112.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 964,012 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 510,192 shares during the period. Ameren accounts for about 1.8% of Reaves W H & Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. owned 0.36% of Ameren worth $100,624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Ameren by 3.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,582,578 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,417,351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268,457 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 89.4% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,419,756 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $232,393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141,978 shares during the last quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $76,614,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ameren by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,090,957 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $488,936,000 after buying an additional 432,182 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 21.1% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,366,866 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $227,314,000 after buying an additional 411,596 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of AEE stock opened at $104.25 on Tuesday. Ameren Corporation has a 12 month low of $91.77 and a 12 month high of $106.73. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $101.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.94. The firm has a market cap of $28.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Argus upgraded Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Monday, December 29th. KeyCorp cut shares of Ameren from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Ameren from $121.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In related news, insider Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.60, for a total value of $673,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 193,076 shares in the company, valued at $20,002,673.60. The trade was a 3.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

About Ameren

Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE) is an integrated energy company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, that provides electric and natural gas delivery and related services in portions of Missouri and Illinois. The company operates regulated utility businesses that serve a broad mix of residential, commercial and industrial customers, and it participates in wholesale energy markets and transmission operations that support reliable service across its service territories.

Ameren’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, distribution of natural gas, and the provision of customer energy solutions such as demand-side management and energy efficiency programs.