Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 721.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 737,143 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 647,453 shares during the quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC owned about 0.14% of American Electric Power worth $67,987,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth approximately $220,983,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 51.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth approximately $121,605,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 27.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 763,813 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on AEP shares. Bank of America lifted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley set a $114.00 price target on shares of American Electric Power and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $105.77.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $103.78 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $55.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $105.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.39. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.93 and a twelve month high of $110.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $5.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.33 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.68%.

American Electric Power Profile

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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