Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 3,210 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 612,888 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,210 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of American Electric Power worth $66,970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AEP. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,601 shares of the company's stock valued at $978,000 after buying an additional 1,095 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth approximately $149,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,568 shares of the company's stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,800 shares of the company's stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Electric Power

In related news, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at $991,683.44. This trade represents a 51.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.74, for a total value of $819,820.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,314 shares of company stock valued at $3,508,293. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AEP shares. Raymond James Financial started coverage on American Electric Power in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. 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 note on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup increased their target price on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. 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 note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.31.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of AEP stock traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $104.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,703,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,221,665. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $103.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.96. The company has a market capitalization of $55.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.66, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.42. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $86.83 and a fifty-two week high of $110.48. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.14. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.68% and a net margin of 13.73%. The company had revenue of $5.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. American Electric Power's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.68%.

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.