American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Bought by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 504,665 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,858 shares during the quarter. American Electric Power accounts for approximately 1.1% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. owned 0.09% of American Electric Power worth $55,145,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in American Electric Power by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,690,606 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,767,425,000 after purchasing an additional 763,813 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in American Electric Power by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 15,060,525 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,389,032,000 after purchasing an additional 543,054 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,808,003 shares of the company's stock worth $1,178,174,000 after acquiring an additional 283,311 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,603,600 shares of the company's stock worth $793,510,000 after acquiring an additional 716,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,047,428 shares of the company's stock worth $649,983,000 after acquiring an additional 85,756 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AEP shares. UBS Group raised their target price on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Bank of America raised their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.75.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP traded up $1.08 during trading on Thursday, reaching $103.02. 2,124,779 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,198,638. The business's 50 day moving average price is $104.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $55.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.42. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.93 and a 1 year high of $110.48.

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

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.68%.

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In related news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.49, for a total value of $817,806.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,860,514.68. This represents a 30.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.68, for a total value of $1,041,277.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 26,256 shares of company stock valued at $2,688,472 over the last three months. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About American Electric Power

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.