Ameren Corporation $AEE Stock: Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Reduces Stake

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) by 1.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 639,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 12,454 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Ameren worth $63,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Ameren during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,918,526,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 11.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,377,156 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $591,056,000 after buying an additional 553,164 shares during the period. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the second quarter valued at about $578,254,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 0.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,758,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $303,227,000 after buying an additional 18,526 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Ameren by 6.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,265,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $248,971,000 after acquiring an additional 136,631 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. BTIG Research cut their price objective on Ameren from $126.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Ameren from $136.00 to $122.00 in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Ameren from $124.00 to $113.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Ameren from $113.00 to $107.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.43.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Theresa A. Shaw sold 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.93, for a total transaction of $35,402.25. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 32,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,522,796.20. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Rafael Flores sold 248 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.53, for a total value of $26,171.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,465,600.64. The trade was a 1.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of AEE opened at $110.33 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $104.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $108.37. Ameren Corporation has a 12 month low of $96.57 and a 12 month high of $118.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.42.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 8th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 8th. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 52.82%.

About Ameren

Ameren Corporation is a regulated electric and natural gas utility holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Through its operating companies, Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois, the company provides electric generation, transmission and distribution services, as well as natural gas distribution.

Ameren serves approximately 2.5 million electric customers and more than 900,000 natural gas customers across Missouri and Illinois. Its operations include a diverse generation portfolio and infrastructure designed to deliver reliable energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers, while supporting the transition toward cleaner energy resources.

Ameren was formed in 1997 through the merger of Union Electric Company and CIPSCO Inc The company is led by Martin J.