Caprock Group LLC Invests $233,000 in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 2,659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AEE. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems raised its position in Ameren by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 20,095 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,429,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew 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 worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:AEE opened at $93.81 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $94.46. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.34. 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given 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 2.86%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays boosted their target price on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.90.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other Ameren news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total transaction of $598,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,906,507.65. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.