GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Buys Shares of 173,821 American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 173,821 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,032,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth approximately $220,983,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,165,888 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at about $121,605,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,105,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 763,813 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In related news, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,658 shares in the company, valued at $991,683.44. The trade was a 51.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Bank of America increased their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.69.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.0%

NASDAQ AEP traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $102.91. 2,582,090 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,207,711. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.93 and a 1-year high of $110.48. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The company has a market cap of $54.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45.

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 for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $5.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. American Electric Power's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

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

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.