MetLife Investment Management LLC Reduces Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in American Electric Power Company by 1.7%, selling 2,383 shares, bringing its total ownership to 138,482 shares valued at approximately $15.13 million.
• American Electric Power announced a quarterly dividend of $0.93 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 3.3%, with a payout ratio of 54.39%.
• After surpassing earnings estimates with an EPS of $1.43, American Electric Power's stock received upgraded price targets from several research firms, with the average target being $111.29.

MetLife Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 138,482 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,383 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in American Electric Power were worth $15,132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the first quarter worth about $568,042,000. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 30.4% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 19,631,466 shares of the company's stock worth $2,145,130,000 after purchasing an additional 4,570,941 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 24.3% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 22,102,537 shares of the company's stock worth $2,415,144,000 after purchasing an additional 4,323,569 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 51.0% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,416,474 shares of the company's stock worth $591,791,000 after purchasing an additional 2,165,888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 13,499.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,150,215 shares of the company's stock worth $234,954,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134,404 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In other American Electric Power news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.74, for a total value of $819,820.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,045,276.76. This trade represents a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 24,173 shares of company stock valued at $2,467,015 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AEP traded down $1.11 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $111.78. The stock had a trading volume of 3,697,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,371,490. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.34, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.40. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $89.91 and a twelve month high of $115.36. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $108.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.83.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $5.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 17.68% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The firm's revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. American Electric Power has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.570-6.770 EPS. On average, analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AEP. Scotiabank raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho set a $116.00 target price on shares of American Electric Power and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $122.00 target price (up previously from $115.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $111.29.

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.