Trajan Wealth LLC lessened its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 6.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,683 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,893 shares during the quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC's holdings in American Electric Power were worth $4,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at $568,042,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 51.0% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,416,474 shares of the company's stock worth $591,791,000 after buying an additional 2,165,888 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 13,499.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,150,215 shares of the company's stock worth $234,954,000 after buying an additional 2,134,404 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 4,567.3% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,764,677 shares of the company's stock worth $192,827,000 after buying an additional 1,726,868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth about $121,605,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho set a $116.00 price objective on American Electric Power and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Guggenheim raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $122.00 price objective (up previously from $115.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $111.29.
Read Our Latest Research Report on AEP
Insider Transactions at American Electric Power
In other American Electric Power news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was 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 owned 10,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,045,276.76. The trade was a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 9,658 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders sold 34,314 shares of company stock worth $3,508,293 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.
American Electric Power Price Performance
Shares of AEP traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $112.86. The stock had a trading volume of 2,230,746 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,595,063. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $89.91 and a 52 week high of $115.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $106.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.83. The company has a market capitalization of $60.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.40.
American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.16. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 17.68%. The company had revenue of $5.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. American Electric Power's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. American Electric Power's payout ratio is 54.39%.
About American Electric Power
(
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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