BNP Paribas Financial Markets Reduces Stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 21.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 385,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 104,299 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Ameren were worth $33,712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 106.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,498,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $177,644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286,162 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 8,645.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,160,998 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,015,410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147,723 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 984,879 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 3,738.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 745,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,234,000 after purchasing an additional 726,438 shares during the period. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 192.6% in the 2nd quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 1,103,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $78,475,000 after purchasing an additional 726,404 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Down 0.7 %

Ameren stock opened at $94.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $25.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.20, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.95. Ameren Co. has a 12 month low of $67.03 and a 12 month high of $95.69. 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren’s payout ratio is 63.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was 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 owns 205,171 shares of the company’s stock, 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 at this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AEE shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Argus raised Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays raised their price objective on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.90.

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.