Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Stock Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,481 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 138 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Ameren were worth $1,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ameren by 1.5% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 20,095 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,429,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased 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 valued at $697,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 205,171 shares in the company, valued at $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 link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Ameren from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Mizuho raised Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Ameren in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.78.

Ameren Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $94.39 on Monday. Ameren Co. has a 1-year low of $67.03 and a 1-year high of $95.69. 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 stock has a market cap of $25.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $88.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.03.

Ameren Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.