Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Bought by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 33.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,034,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 258,858 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $90,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AEE. Commerce Bank raised its holdings in Ameren by 0.5% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 161,855 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,156,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Ameren by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 57,721 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,048,000 after purchasing an additional 7,112 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,007,000. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 7.3% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 31,943 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,794,000 after buying an additional 2,182 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on AEE. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the firm’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 value of $131,923.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. This trade represents a 3.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $92.24 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $24.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Ameren Co. has a 1-year low of $67.03 and a 1-year high of $92.77. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.02.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

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

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.