Busey Bank Has $1.14 Million Stock Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Busey Bank cut its stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 520 shares during the period. Busey Bank’s holdings in Ameren were worth $1,137,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,417,000. FMR LLC increased 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 buying an additional 984,879 shares during the period. Lindenwold Advisors INC bought a new stake in Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,682,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Ameren by 51.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,064,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,134,000 after buying an additional 362,772 shares during the period. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 265.0% in the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 173,771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,198,000 after purchasing an additional 126,157 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $94.20 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.14 billion, a PE ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $91.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.72. 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 one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $96.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was 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 $18,906,507.65. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays lowered shares of Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameren currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.00.

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.