Virtu Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 2,457 Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,457 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AEE. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Ameren during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the third quarter worth about $44,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Ameren in the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Ameren in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $58,000. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $18,906,507.65. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $86.93 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $89.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.60. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $67.03 and a 1 year high of $95.69.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AEE. Argus upgraded shares of Ameren to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.