Sunbelt Securities Inc. Decreases Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. lowered its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 62.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,876 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,079 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.'s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AEP. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,601 shares of the company's stock worth $978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 33,743 shares of the company's stock worth $3,112,000 after purchasing an additional 7,066 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth approximately $149,000. Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 20,271 shares of the company's stock worth $1,870,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth approximately $819,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup raised their price objective 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. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $108.31.

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In other news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.49, for a total transaction of $817,806.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,332 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,860,514.68. The trade was a 30.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $991,683.44. The trade was a 51.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,314 shares of company stock valued at $3,508,293. Insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP opened at $102.46 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $103.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.31. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $86.83 and a one year high of $110.48. The company has a market cap of $54.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.74, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.42.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.14. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.73% and a return on equity of 11.68%. The firm had revenue of $5.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio is currently 71.68%.

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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