Western Wealth Management LLC Lowers Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Western Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 47.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,747 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,015 shares during the quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC's holdings in American Electric Power were worth $715,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at about $220,983,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 51.0% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,416,474 shares of the company's stock valued at $591,791,000 after purchasing an additional 2,165,888 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $121,605,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,120,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $472,270,000 after buying an additional 1,105,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in American Electric Power by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,690,606 shares of the company's stock worth $4,767,425,000 after purchasing an additional 763,813 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $105.69.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP traded up $0.53 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $102.21. The stock had a trading volume of 654,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,196,803. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.60 billion, a PE ratio of 18.24, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31. 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 fifty day moving average price of $104.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.60.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $5.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $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 year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $991,683.44. This represents a 51.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.