Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Raises Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 1,631.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 273,999 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 258,172 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of American Electric Power worth $29,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AEP. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,601 shares of the company's stock valued at $978,000 after buying an additional 1,095 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $149,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,816 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,104,000 after buying an additional 1,387 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Sciencast Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,335,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other American Electric Power news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 $991,683.44. This represents a 51.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,314 shares of company stock valued at $3,508,293 over the last 90 days. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.6%

American Electric Power stock traded up $0.65 during trading on Thursday, hitting $109.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 793,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,548,102. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.42. The stock's fifty day moving average is $103.49 and its 200 day moving average is $103.07. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $89.91 and a 1-year high of $110.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.42.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.68% and a net margin of 13.73%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. American Electric Power's payout ratio is currently 71.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AEP. Raymond James Financial began coverage on American Electric Power in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup boosted their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $108.31.

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.