Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Acquires 7,429 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 27.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,936 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,429 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $3,817,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the 1st quarter valued at $168,000. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 4,226 shares of the company's stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in American Electric Power by 4.2% during the first quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,695 shares of the company's stock worth $3,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 17.8% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 16,152 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,765,000 after purchasing an additional 2,438 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Electric Power

In related news, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,057 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.94, for a total value of $829,387.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,298 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,707,116.12. This represents a 23.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP traded down $0.08 on Thursday, hitting $101.77. 2,033,925 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,192,769. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.93 and a 12 month high of $110.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $104.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.90.

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

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AEP. BMO Capital Markets raised 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 note on Monday, April 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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 lifted 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. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.