Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Acquires 1,343 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 31.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,343 shares during the quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Ameren by 5.5% during the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 2,992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Ameren by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 7,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Ameren by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 52.8% during the 1st quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Ameren by 115.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameren Price Performance

Ameren stock opened at $83.99 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $67.03 and a 12-month high of $85.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $79.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.04. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 16.28%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of Ameren 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 owns 44,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AEE shares. Bank of America increased their price target on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Ameren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

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.