American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Sold by ABC Arbitrage SA

Key Points

• ABC Arbitrage SA has reduced its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. by 53.7%, selling a total of 9,614 shares, leaving it with 8,302 shares worth about $907,000.
• Multiple hedge funds have increased their stakes in American Electric Power, with Bank of Montreal Can owning 2,131,425 shares after a 9.0% increase, now valued at $196,581,000.
• American Electric Power recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.93 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.3% and a payout ratio of 54.39%.

ABC Arbitrage SA lowered its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 53.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,302 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,614 shares during the period. ABC Arbitrage SA's holdings in American Electric Power were worth $907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,603,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $793,510,000 after acquiring an additional 716,229 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in American Electric Power by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,047,428 shares of the company's stock valued at $649,983,000 after purchasing an additional 85,756 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $591,791,000 after purchasing an additional 2,165,888 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings 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 worth $472,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,317 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,851,264 shares of the company's stock worth $447,432,000 after purchasing an additional 272,997 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

American Electric Power Stock Down 1.1%

NASDAQ:AEP traded down $1.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $112.50. The stock had a trading volume of 2,706,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,661,537. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $89.91 and a twelve month high of $115.36. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a market capitalization of $60.16 billion, a PE ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 3.02 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.16. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 17.68%. The firm had revenue of $5.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. American Electric Power's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.39%.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In other news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the business's 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 10,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,045,276.76. The trade was a 43.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $991,683.44. This trade represents a 51.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,314 shares of company stock worth $3,508,293 over the last quarter. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on AEP. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of 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. Guggenheim upped their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial restated 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report 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 report on Thursday, July 31st. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $111.29.

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.