Bleakley Financial Group LLC Raises Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 13.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,961 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,432 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC's holdings in American Electric Power were worth $2,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 51.0% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,416,474 shares of the company's stock worth $591,791,000 after buying an additional 2,165,888 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 13,499.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,150,215 shares of the company's stock valued at $234,954,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134,404 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 4,567.3% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,764,677 shares of the company's stock valued at $192,827,000 after purchasing an additional 1,726,868 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $121,605,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,120,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $472,270,000 after buying an additional 1,105,317 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.74, for a total transaction of $819,820.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 10,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,045,276.76. This represents a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.68, for a total transaction of $1,041,277.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,658 shares in the company, valued at $991,683.44. This trade represents a 51.22% decrease in their position. 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 company insiders.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

American Electric Power stock traded up $1.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $107.13. 1,433,397 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,219,676. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $89.91 and a 52 week high of $110.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $57.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.42. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $102.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.61.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.14. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.73% and a return on equity of 11.68%. The business had revenue of $5.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. American Electric Power's payout ratio is 71.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on AEP shares. UBS Group upped their target price on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on American Electric Power in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.31.

American Electric Power 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.