SpringVest Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

SpringVest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 34,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,204,000. American Electric Power comprises about 2.7% of SpringVest Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in American Electric Power by 31.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,075,032 shares of the company's stock valued at $315,498,000 after purchasing an additional 738,756 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,601 shares of the company's stock valued at $978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power by 61.6% in the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 3,919 shares of the company's stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in American Electric Power by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 5,277 shares of the company's stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in American Electric Power by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,165 shares of the company's stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 2,056 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.68, for a total value of $1,041,277.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at $991,683.44. This represents a 51.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $105.69.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ AEP traded up $0.62 on Friday, hitting $103.15. 3,896,578 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,212,932. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The business's fifty day moving average is $104.88 and its 200 day moving average is $100.73. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.93 and a 52 week high of $110.48. The company has a market capitalization of $55.10 billion, a PE ratio of 18.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.14. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The firm had revenue of $5.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power's payout ratio is presently 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.