3,081 Shares in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Bought by Code Waechter LLC

Code Waechter LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,081 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $337,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 13,499.5% in 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. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 4,567.3% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,764,677 shares of the company's stock valued at $192,827,000 after purchasing an additional 1,726,868 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $121,605,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 27.5% in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of American Electric Power stock traded down $0.70 during trading on Friday, hitting $105.34. 2,473,878 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,226,904. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $89.84 and a fifty-two week high of $110.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $103.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.25.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.14. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.68% and a net margin of 13.73%. The firm had revenue of $5.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Electric Power

In other American Electric Power news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,045,276.76. The trade was a 43.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.68, for a total value of $1,041,277.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $991,683.44. The trade was a 51.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,314 shares of company stock valued at $3,508,293 over the last quarter. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AEP shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Guggenheim boosted 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. Citigroup boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $108.31.

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.