Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Trims Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH decreased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 11.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 185,658 shares of the company's stock after selling 24,562 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH's holdings in American Electric Power were worth $20,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,808,003 shares of the company's stock worth $1,178,174,000 after purchasing an additional 283,311 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,603,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $793,510,000 after purchasing an additional 716,229 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 85,756 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 51.0% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,416,474 shares of the company's stock valued at $591,791,000 after acquiring an additional 2,165,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,120,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $472,270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105,317 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 10,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,045,276.76. The trade was a 43.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 three months, insiders sold 34,314 shares of company stock valued at $3,508,293. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target 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. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of 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, Barclays increased their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $108.31.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of AEP traded up $0.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $109.79. The company had a trading volume of 2,282,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,552,050. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $103.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.42. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $89.91 and a 52-week high of $110.51.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.14. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.68% and a net margin of 13.73%. The business had revenue of $5.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. American Electric Power's revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.