Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC Purchases 122,362 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 2,547.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,166 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 122,362 shares during the quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC's holdings in American Electric Power were worth $11,729,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in American Electric Power by 1.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 198,350 shares of the company's stock worth $18,294,000 after purchasing an additional 22,137 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 684,670 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,147,000 after purchasing an additional 114,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 59.5% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 112,915 shares of the company's stock worth $10,414,000 after acquiring an additional 42,115 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AEP shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $114.00 price target on American Electric Power and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the firm's 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 now directly owns 9,658 shares in the company, valued at $991,683.44. This trade represents a 51.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP traded down $0.80 on Wednesday, hitting $102.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,340,410 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,207,361. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $105.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.93 and a 12 month high of $110.48. The firm has a market cap of $54.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. The firm had revenue of $5.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. 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.