Cerity Partners LLC Has $11.31 Million Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 8.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 103,477 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,876 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in American Electric Power were worth $11,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new position in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Bank of New Hampshire acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In other news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.74, for a total transaction of $819,820.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 10,274 shares in the company, valued at $1,045,276.76. This trade represents a 43.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 9,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $991,683.44. The trade was a 51.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 34,314 shares of company stock worth $3,508,293. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEP has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $108.31.

American Electric Power Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $105.02 on Tuesday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $89.84 and a 52 week high of $110.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $102.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $102.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $56.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.42.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $5.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.68% and a net margin of 13.73%. American Electric Power's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. On average, equities 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio 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.

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