Charles Schwab Trust Co Purchases Shares of 2,590 American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Charles Schwab Trust Co purchased a new stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $283,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AEP. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at about $220,983,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 boosted its position in shares of 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 shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at about $121,605,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position 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 valued at $472,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,317 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP opened at $101.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $54.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.42. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.93 and a 52-week high of $110.48. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $104.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.44.

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

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on 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. Barclays upped their target price on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Guggenheim upped their target price on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.69.

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In related news, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,057 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.94, for a total value of $829,387.58. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,298 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,707,116.12. The trade was a 23.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AEP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.