Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $56.08 Million Stock Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 0.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 641,235 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 499 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $56,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 115.3% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Ameren in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 108.1% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 227.3% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

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 transaction of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at $3,640,758.08. This represents a 3.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $91.21 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $86.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.49. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $92.77. 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 Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. 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 2.94%. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 63.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on AEE shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Argus upgraded Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameren presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.80.

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.