State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $19.92 Million Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D has reduced its stake in American Electric Power Company by 6.1%, holding a total of 182,261 shares now valued at approximately $19.92 million.
• Insiders at American Electric Power have sold a total of 34,314 shares valued at over $3.5 million in the past three months, representing significant decreases in their ownership stakes.
• Recently, several analysts have adjusted their price targets for American Electric Power, with recommendations varying from "outperform" to "hold," reflecting a consensus rating of "Hold."

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 6.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 182,261 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,798 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in American Electric Power were worth $19,916,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 period. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $262,000. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $205,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power by 24.5% in the 1st 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 stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 73,488 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Electric Power news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.74, for a total value of $819,820.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 10,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,045,276.76. This represents a 43.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.68, for a total transaction of $1,041,277.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 three months, insiders sold 34,314 shares of company stock valued at $3,508,293. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased 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. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $111.29.

American Electric Power Price Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $111.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.99. The company has a market cap of $59.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.40. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $89.91 and a 1 year high of $115.36.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.16. American Electric Power had a net margin of 17.68% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The business had revenue of $5.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. American Electric Power's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio is 54.39%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.