Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Buys 1,223 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,841 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,223 shares during the quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AEE. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Ameren by 8.6% in the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 18,428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,363,000 after buying an additional 1,467 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 4,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 22.9% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,297 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361 shares in the last quarter. Natixis acquired a new stake in Ameren during the first quarter worth approximately $91,000. Finally, Shell Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in Ameren by 183.4% in the first quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 7,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 4,946 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. This represents a 3.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on AEE. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Ameren in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho upgraded shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. One equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.80.

Ameren Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $92.09 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $87.45 and its 200 day moving average is $79.93. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $67.03 and a 12-month high of $92.77. The stock has a market cap of $24.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.67, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Ameren’s payout ratio is 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.