Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Sells 42,763 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Key Points

• Mawer Investment Management Ltd. reduced its holdings in American Electric Power Company by 3.5%, selling 42,763 shares and retaining 1,165,112 shares valued at approximately $127 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their positions in American Electric Power, with Lazard Asset Management raising its stake by 51.0% in the fourth quarter.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.93 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 3.45% and a payout ratio of 71.68%.

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,165,112 shares of the company's stock after selling 42,763 shares during the quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.22% of American Electric Power worth $127,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in American Electric Power by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,331 shares of the company's stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $262,000. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $205,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 24.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 19,678 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,150,000 after purchasing an additional 3,867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 26.1% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 355,516 shares of the company's stock worth $38,848,000 after acquiring an additional 73,488 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $122.00 price target (up from $115.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday. Barclays upped their price target on American Electric Power from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Mizuho set a $116.00 target price on American Electric Power and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $111.29.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ AEP traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $113.70. The company had a trading volume of 2,505,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,585,051. The company has a market capitalization of $60.74 billion, a PE ratio of 16.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $89.91 and a one year high of $114.38.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 11.98%. The company had revenue of $5.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio is 54.39%.

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In related news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.74, for a total value of $819,820.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 10,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,045,276.76. This trade represents a 43.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.68, for a total transaction of $1,041,277.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $991,683.44. This trade represents a 51.22% 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 three months. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

American Electric Power Company 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.