Verition Fund Management LLC Buys 528,270 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 484.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 637,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 528,270 shares during the quarter. Ameren comprises approximately 0.3% of Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Verition Fund Management LLC owned approximately 0.24% of Ameren worth $55,733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 106.1% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,498,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $177,644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286,162 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 8,645.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,160,998 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,015,410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147,723 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 59.8% during the third 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. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 3,738.0% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 745,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,234,000 after buying an additional 726,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 192.6% in the second quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 1,103,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $78,475,000 after buying an additional 726,404 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus upgraded Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.90.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of AEE stock opened at $94.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $25.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35, a PEG 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. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company’s 50 day moving average is $88.81 and its 200 day moving average is $80.81.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren’s payout ratio is 63.06%.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,906,507.65. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.