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

Key Points

• E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in American Electric Power by 97.4%, acquiring an additional 7,371 shares, bringing its total to nearly 15,000 shares worth approximately $1.63 million.
• Insider trading activity included significant sales by executives, with EVP David Matthew Feinberg selling over 8,000 shares, representing a 43.96% decrease in ownership.
• American Electric Power reported a net revenue of $5.09 billion for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.93 per share.

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 97.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,936 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,371 shares during the quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at about $568,042,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 51.0% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,416,474 shares of the company's stock worth $591,791,000 after purchasing an additional 2,165,888 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 13,499.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,150,215 shares of the company's stock valued at $234,954,000 after acquiring an additional 2,134,404 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 4,567.3% during the 1st 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. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,120,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $472,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,317 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup raised their price target on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank raised their price target 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. Mizuho set a $116.00 price target on American Electric Power and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $111.29.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of American Electric Power stock traded down $0.87 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $111.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,353,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,737,375. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $106.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.04. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $89.91 and a one year high of $115.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $59.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.40.

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

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.68, for a total value of $1,041,277.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,658 shares in the company, valued at $991,683.44. This represents a 51.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the firm'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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,045,276.76. This represents a 43.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,314 shares of company stock worth $3,508,293 in the last 90 days. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.