Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Takes Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired 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 acquired 35,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,230,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 57,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,310,000 after acquiring an additional 3,288 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 23,916 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 4,370 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 436.9% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,092 shares of the company's stock worth $654,000 after purchasing an additional 5,771 shares during the last quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth $419,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 3.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,667,000 after buying an additional 19,081 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of AEP stock traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $104.68. 3,056,954 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,161,627. The business's fifty day moving average is $105.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.93 and a 12-month high of $110.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

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

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio is currently 71.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AEP. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Guggenheim upped their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley set a $114.00 price target on shares of American Electric Power and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.77.

About American Electric Power

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.