Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 10.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,907 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,582 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.'s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $4,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,331 shares of the company's stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth approximately $262,000. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth approximately $205,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power by 24.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 19,678 shares of the company's stock worth $2,150,000 after buying an additional 3,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power by 26.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 355,516 shares of the company's stock worth $38,848,000 after buying an additional 73,488 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AEP shares. Barclays upped their price target on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup upped their price target on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Guggenheim upped their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $108.31.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.8%

American Electric Power stock opened at $109.79 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $58.65 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.42. 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 Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $89.91 and a fifty-two week high of $110.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $103.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.33.

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

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio is currently 71.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Electric Power

In other news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,274 shares in the company, valued at $1,045,276.76. This trade represents a 43.96% 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 Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $991,683.44. This represents a 51.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,314 shares of company stock valued at $3,508,293. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

About American Electric Power

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.

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