150,299 Shares in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Purchased by Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV

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

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 valued at $4,767,425,000 after purchasing an additional 763,813 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 15,060,525 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,389,032,000 after buying an additional 543,054 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $1,178,174,000 after acquiring an additional 283,311 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,603,600 shares of the company's stock worth $793,510,000 after acquiring an additional 716,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,851,264 shares of the company's stock worth $447,432,000 after acquiring an additional 272,997 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $114.00 target price on shares of American Electric Power and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America raised their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Guggenheim upgraded American Electric Power from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $101.69.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $107.69 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.93 and a twelve month high of $110.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $105.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.05. The company has a market capitalization of $57.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.43%.

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.

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