American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Sold by GF Fund Management CO. LTD.

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. cut its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 169,798 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,023 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD.'s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $18,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Bank of New Hampshire purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AEP shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $108.31.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of AEP stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $104.00. 634,077 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,213,775. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.31. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $86.83 and a 1-year high of $110.48. The firm has a market cap of $55.55 billion, a PE ratio of 20.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.42. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $103.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $101.96.

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 research analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. American Electric Power's payout ratio is currently 71.68%.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In other news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.74, for a total transaction of $819,820.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 10,274 shares in the company, valued at $1,045,276.76. This represents a 43.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 ninety days. 0.07% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.