Stifel Financial Corp Purchases 1,144 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,686 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,144 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Ameren were worth $3,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AEE. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Ameren by 106.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,498,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $177,644,000 after buying an additional 1,286,162 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,015,410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147,723 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 59.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 984,879 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in 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 worth $65,234,000 after purchasing an additional 726,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd grew its position in Ameren by 192.6% in the second quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 1,103,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $78,475,000 after purchasing an additional 726,404 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Price Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $88.67 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $23.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $89.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.57. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $67.03 and a one 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.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other Ameren news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $18,906,507.65. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AEE shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays boosted their price target on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Mizuho raised Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.89.

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.