Motco Sells 7,743 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Key Points

• Motco reduced its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. by 14.4% in the first quarter, holding 46,051 shares valued at approximately $5.03 million after selling 7,743 shares.
• American Electric Power recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.93 per share, corresponding to an annualized dividend of $3.72 and a yield of 3.39%.
• The company reported earnings of $1.54 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenues of $5.46 billion, marking an increase of 8.7% year-over-year.

Motco lowered its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 14.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 46,051 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,743 shares during the quarter. Motco's holdings in American Electric Power were worth $5,032,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in American Electric Power by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,331 shares of the company's stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the 1st quarter worth about $262,000. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the 1st quarter worth about $205,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 24.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 19,678 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,150,000 after buying an additional 3,867 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 26.1% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 355,516 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,848,000 after buying an additional 73,488 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AEP. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Citigroup increased their target price on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Guggenheim lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target 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. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $108.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Electric Power news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,658 shares in the company, valued at $991,683.44. This trade represents a 51.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,314 shares of company stock worth $3,508,293. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of American Electric Power stock traded up $4.17 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $113.39. 4,353,521 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,553,589. The company has a market cap of $60.57 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.42. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $89.91 and a twelve month high of $113.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $103.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $103.63.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $5.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.85 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.73% and a return on equity of 11.68%. The firm's revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. American Electric Power's payout ratio is 71.68%.

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.