USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 22,536 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

USS Investment Management Ltd reduced its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 15.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 127,816 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,536 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in American Electric Power were worth $11,789,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AEP. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth $220,983,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $591,791,000 after acquiring an additional 2,165,888 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth $121,605,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings 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 worth $472,270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105,317 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,690,606 shares of the company's stock worth $4,767,425,000 after acquiring an additional 763,813 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.68, for a total value of $1,041,277.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP stock traded up $1.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $102.88. 1,888,413 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,209,877. 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 has a fifty day moving average price of $105.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.48. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.93 and a 12 month high of $110.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.37, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. The firm 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 company posted $1.27 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays raised their price target on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $105.69.

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.