Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 61,727 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,782,474 shares of the company's stock after selling 61,727 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.71% of American Electric Power worth $413,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bank of New Hampshire purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Electric Power news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.74, for a total transaction of $819,820.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,274 shares in the company, valued at $1,045,276.76. This represents a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.68, for a total value of $1,041,277.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at $991,683.44. This represents a 51.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,314 shares of company stock valued at $3,508,293 over the last 90 days. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AEP shares. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.31.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

American Electric Power stock traded up $1.30 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $106.04. 2,482,740 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,222,272. The firm has a market cap of $56.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.43, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $103.07 and a 200 day moving average of $102.07. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.51 and a 12 month high of $110.48.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.33 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.68% and a net margin of 13.73%. The company's revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. American Electric Power's payout ratio is 71.68%.

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.