Natixis Advisors LLC Has $3.61 Million Stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,016 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $3,614,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 2.2% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $777,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $206,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Ameren by 7.0% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 45,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,972,000 after purchasing an additional 2,957 shares during the period. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth about $525,000. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC raised its holdings in Ameren by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 8,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $745,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEE has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Mizuho upgraded Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Argus raised Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Ameren in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.90.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE AEE opened at $93.81 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.29. 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 $94.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total transaction of $131,923.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at $3,640,758.08. The trade was a 3.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $598,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,171 shares in the company, valued at $18,906,507.65. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.