Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Takes $13.86 Million Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 150,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,862,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in American Electric Power by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,690,606 shares of the company's stock worth $4,767,425,000 after buying an additional 763,813 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 15,060,525 shares of the company's stock worth $1,389,032,000 after purchasing an additional 543,054 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,808,003 shares of the company's stock worth $1,178,174,000 after acquiring an additional 283,311 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in American Electric Power by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,603,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $793,510,000 after purchasing an additional 716,229 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,851,264 shares of the company's stock valued at $447,432,000 after buying an additional 272,997 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

NASDAQ:AEP traded down $0.80 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $106.68. The stock had a trading volume of 1,002,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,145,149. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $105.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $85.93 and a one year high of $110.48.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio is currently 66.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $114.00 price objective on shares of American Electric Power and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $105.77.

American Electric Power Company Profile

American Electric Power Company, Inc, an electric public utility holding company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale to retail and wholesale customers in the United States. It operates through Vertically Integrated Utilities, Transmission and Distribution Utilities, AEP Transmission Holdco, and Generation & Marketing segments.