Benjamin Edwards Inc. Has $3.82 Million Stock Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,379 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $3,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AEE. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in Ameren by 26.1% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,318,537 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $202,779,000 after buying an additional 479,668 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 484.8% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 637,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,733,000 after acquiring an additional 528,270 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 9,982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $873,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 46,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,071,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Ameren by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 72,269 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,321,000 after purchasing an additional 9,449 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of AEE stock opened at $91.80 on Wednesday. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $95.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $89.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.28. The stock has a market cap of $24.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.48.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,906,507.65. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on AEE. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Argus raised Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Ameren in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho raised Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.78.

Ameren 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.