Salem Investment Counselors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 6.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 73,671 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,475 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.'s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $8,050,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AEP. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,690,606 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,767,425,000 after purchasing an additional 763,813 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 15,060,525 shares of the company's stock worth $1,389,032,000 after purchasing an additional 543,054 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,808,003 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,178,174,000 after acquiring an additional 283,311 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,603,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $793,510,000 after acquiring an additional 716,229 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,047,428 shares of the company's stock valued at $649,983,000 after acquiring an additional 85,756 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,057 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.94, for a total transaction of $829,387.58. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,298 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,707,116.12. This trade represents a 23.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 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. Insiders sold a total of 26,256 shares of company stock valued at $2,688,472 over the last three months. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
American Electric Power Stock Performance
Shares of AEP stock traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $102.90. The stock had a trading volume of 2,388,673 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,199,796. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.97 billion, a PE ratio of 18.38, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.42. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.93 and a twelve month high of $110.48. The stock's 50 day moving average is $104.14 and its 200 day moving average is $101.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31.
American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $5.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. The company's revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio is presently 71.68%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
AEP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of 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. Raymond James began coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Friday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $108.31.
View Our Latest Analysis on AEP
American Electric Power Profile
(
Free Report)
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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