Empower Advisory Group LLC Increases Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Key Points

• Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. by 3.5%, acquiring an additional 26,653 shares for a total ownership of approximately 0.15% worth $87.2 million.
• Institutional investors now hold 75.24% of American Electric Power's stock, reflecting a trend of increasing investment in the company.
• American Electric Power declared a quarterly dividend of $0.93 per share, which translates to an annualized yield of 3.2%, with a payout ratio of 54.39%.

Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 798,194 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 26,653 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC owned 0.15% of American Electric Power worth $87,219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,331 shares of the company's stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the first quarter valued at approximately $262,000. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the first quarter valued at approximately $205,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 24.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 19,678 shares of the company's stock worth $2,150,000 after buying an additional 3,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 26.1% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 355,516 shares of the company's stock worth $38,848,000 after acquiring an additional 73,488 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $1,041,277.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 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 8,058 shares of the business'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 value of $819,820.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 10,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,045,276.76. The trade was a 43.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 34,314 shares of company stock valued at $3,508,293. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho set a $116.00 price target on shares of American Electric Power and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on American Electric Power from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $122.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $111.29.

American Electric Power Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of AEP traded down $1.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $112.50. The stock had a trading volume of 2,706,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,614,643. 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 Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $89.91 and a 1 year high of $115.36. The firm has a market cap of $60.16 billion, a PE ratio of 16.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.40. The stock's 50 day moving average is $105.52 and its 200 day moving average is $104.43.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.16. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 17.68%. The company had revenue of $5.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. American Electric Power's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. American Electric Power's payout ratio is 54.39%.

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.