Financial Counselors Inc. Has $1.57 Million Stock Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Financial Counselors Inc. lowered its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,894 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 244 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $1,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 8,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $745,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems raised its position in Ameren by 0.6% during the second quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 20,095 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,429,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC raised its position in Ameren by 4.2% during the third quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in Ameren by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 9,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $777,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Down 0.7 %

AEE stock opened at $94.36 on Friday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $88.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $95.69.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AEE shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Ameren from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Argus upgraded shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.90.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total transaction of $598,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.