American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Acquired by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in American Electric Power by 8.5%, owning 179,059 shares valued at approximately $19.5 million.
• Several other institutional investors like Nuveen LLC and Lazard Asset Management LLC significantly raised their stakes in American Electric Power in recent quarters, with 75.24% of the stock now held by institutional investors.
• American Electric Power announced a quarterly dividend of $0.93, with a yield of 3.3%, reflecting a dividend payout ratio of 54.39%.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 8.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 179,059 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,094 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $19,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Electric Power by 53.8% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,906,835 shares of the company's stock valued at $208,360,000 after purchasing an additional 667,129 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in American Electric Power by 3.2% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 142,558 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,577,000 after purchasing an additional 4,373 shares in the last quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the first quarter valued at about $205,000. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 8.1% in the first quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 38,340 shares of the company's stock worth $4,189,000 after acquiring an additional 2,877 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Linscomb Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the first quarter worth about $206,000. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on AEP. Mizuho set a $116.00 price target on American Electric Power and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank upped their target price on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Guggenheim upped their target price on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $122.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One equities 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $111.29.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of AEP traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $112.86. 2,230,746 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,739,387. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.55. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $89.91 and a 12-month high of $115.36. The company has a market cap of $60.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.40. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $106.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.91.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $5.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.85 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 17.68%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. American Electric Power's payout ratio is 54.39%.

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.