BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Sells 3,322 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. cut its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 16.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,353 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,322 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hodges Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,615,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in American Electric Power during the first quarter valued at $1,731,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 381.9% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,995,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,581,734 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 28.1% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 50,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,096,000 after purchasing an additional 11,065 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 21.7% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 582,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,170,000 after purchasing an additional 103,771 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Barclays raised their price target on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on American Electric Power from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $86.00 in a report on Thursday, June 6th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.62.

American Electric Power Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of AEP stock opened at $93.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.54. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.38 and a 52-week high of $94.72. The company has a market capitalization of $49.10 billion, a PE ratio of 17.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s fifty day moving average is $89.34 and its 200 day moving average is $85.01.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 14.60%. The company had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.11 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders 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 3.78%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 65.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Electric Power

In other American Electric Power news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,385 shares in the company, valued at $563,476.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other American Electric Power news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $440,820.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,446 shares in the company, valued at $580,140. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total value of $518,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $563,476.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.