Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 9,532 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group increased its stake in American Electric Power by 17.7%, purchasing 9,532 shares to hold 63,526 shares valued at about $7.33 million at quarter-end.
• AEP beat quarterly expectations, reporting $1.19 EPS vs. $1.15 expected and $5.32B in revenue vs. $5.07B, set FY2026 guidance of $6.15–$6.45 EPS, and pays a $0.95 quarterly dividend (annual $3.80, ~2.8% yield).
• Insiders trimmed positions—two executive VPs sold shares, each reducing their holdings by ~8%—while institutional investors own 75.24% of the stock and analysts show a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average target of $136.81.

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 17.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,526 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,532 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in American Electric Power were worth $7,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,922,911 shares of the company's stock worth $3,253,827,000 after purchasing an additional 406,445 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 26.8% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,084,813 shares of the company's stock worth $684,772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285,279 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 105.6% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,379,342 shares of the company's stock worth $595,243,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763,328 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 8.0% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,223,848 shares of the company's stock worth $587,683,000 after purchasing an additional 388,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 4.4% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,129,468 shares of the company's stock worth $577,065,000 after purchasing an additional 217,080 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Electric Power

In related news, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,351 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.46, for a total transaction of $177,602.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,410 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,025,798.60. This trade represents a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Phillip R. Ulrich sold 4,106 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.08, for a total value of $542,320.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,263 shares in the company, valued at $5,582,097.04. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

American Electric Power Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ AEP opened at $133.66 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $97.46 and a 12 month high of $137.74. The stock has a market cap of $72.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.58. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $131.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 16.37%.The firm had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.150-6.450 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEP has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. UBS Group increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $132.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $133.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Evercore increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $137.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $136.81.

American Electric Power Profile

American Electric Power NASDAQ: AEP is a major investor-owned electric utility headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The company is primarily engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, operating a diverse portfolio of power plants and an extensive high-voltage transmission network. AEP serves retail customers through its regulated utility subsidiaries and provides wholesale power and grid services across multiple regional markets in the United States.

Operations span the full utility value chain: AEP owns and operates generation assets that include fossil-fuel, natural gas, nuclear and hydropower facilities, and it has been adding renewable resources to its mix.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AEP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.