American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 22.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 297,222 shares of the company's stock after selling 88,277 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.06% of American Electric Power worth $32,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at $220,983,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in American Electric Power by 51.0% during 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 2,134,404 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at $121,605,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in 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. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AEP shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Guggenheim lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays lifted their price target 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 lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $108.31.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.1%

AEP stock traded down $0.12 on Friday, hitting $102.90. 2,388,673 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,207,021. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.93 and a 12-month high of $110.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $104.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $54.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.42.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.14. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. The firm had revenue of $5.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

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 was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. American Electric Power's payout ratio is presently 71.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 10th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,860,514.68. The trade was a 30.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the business'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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,256 shares of company stock worth $2,688,472. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.