Bank & Trust Co Sells 1,093 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Bank & Trust Co reduced its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 30,739 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,093 shares during the period. Ameren comprises approximately 2.3% of Bank & Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Ameren were worth $2,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Ameren in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 2nd quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at about $74,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other Ameren news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Ameren stock traded up $0.60 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $87.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 324,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 834,928. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $23.35 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.34. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $67.03 and a 52 week high of $95.69.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th were paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AEE shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Argus raised shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Mizuho raised Ameren from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.