American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Bought by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 17.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 664,304 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 96,645 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.13% of American Electric Power worth $57,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total transaction of $518,910.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $563,476.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total transaction of $518,910.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $563,476.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $440,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $580,140. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AEP shares. Scotiabank upped their price target on American Electric Power from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on American Electric Power from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $73.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.62.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP traded down $0.77 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $92.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 382,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,262,445. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.38 and a fifty-two week high of $94.72. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.53.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.02 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 11.23%. American Electric Power’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 65.31%.

American Electric Power Company 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.