Employees Retirement System of Texas Purchases 10,945 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Employees Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 110,234 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,945 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas' holdings in American Electric Power were worth $10,167,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AEP. LifeWealth Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth $272,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth $58,000. Armis Advisers LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth $239,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Ascent Group LLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 27,889 shares of the company's stock worth $2,572,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Electric Power news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at $991,683.44. This represents a 51.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AEP traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $103.15. The stock had a trading volume of 3,896,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,209,022. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.93 and a twelve month high of $110.48. 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 $55.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.42, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $104.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.66.

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

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio is presently 71.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Guggenheim upped their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $105.69.

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.