Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management has increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 1.3%, now owning about 3.33 million shares valued at approximately $363.47 million.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for American Electric Power, with UBS Group setting a target of $110.00 while Raymond James Financial increased theirs to $122.00, indicating a positive outlook on the stock.
• American Electric Power has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.93 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.3%, to be paid on September 10th to investors of record from August 8th.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,326,373 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 41,482 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.62% of American Electric Power worth $363,473,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clarius Group LLC grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 2.5% during the first quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 3,966 shares of the company's stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,414 shares of the company's stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 3.0% during the first quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,468 shares of the company's stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 27,889 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,572,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its stake in American Electric Power by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 4,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 10,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,045,276.76. This represents a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,658 shares in the company, valued at $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 have sold 34,314 shares of company stock worth $3,508,293 over the last three months. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on AEP. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Mizuho set a $116.00 price objective on shares of American Electric Power and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $111.29.

American Electric Power Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of American Electric Power stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $111.99. The stock had a trading volume of 2,576,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,597,365. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $89.91 and a 12 month high of $115.36. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $105.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.73. The stock has a market cap of $59.89 billion, a PE ratio of 16.37, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $5.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.85 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 17.68% and a return on equity of 11.55%. American Electric Power's revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side 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 will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio is 54.39%.

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.