American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Purchased by Spire Wealth Management

Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 473.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,758 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 17,962 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management's holdings in American Electric Power were worth $2,378,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,331 shares of the company's stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the first quarter worth approximately $262,000. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the first quarter worth approximately $205,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 26.1% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 355,516 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,848,000 after acquiring an additional 73,488 shares during the period. Finally, GQG Partners LLC raised its position in American Electric Power by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 15,060,525 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,389,032,000 after purchasing an additional 543,054 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $991,683.44. This represents a 51.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.49, for a total value of $817,806.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 18,332 shares in the company, valued at $1,860,514.68. The trade was a 30.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,314 shares of company stock valued at $3,508,293 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of American Electric Power stock traded up $0.11 on Friday, hitting $102.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,451,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,202,434. The company has a market capitalization of $54.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.42. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $86.83 and a 52-week high of $110.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $103.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $5.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio is currently 71.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Guggenheim boosted 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. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.31.

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.