Abacus Planning Group Inc. Buys 157 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 4.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,722 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 15,060,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,389,032,000 after purchasing an additional 543,054 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,808,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,178,174,000 after purchasing an additional 283,311 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in American Electric Power by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,603,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $793,510,000 after purchasing an additional 716,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in American Electric Power by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,047,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $649,983,000 after purchasing an additional 85,756 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.75.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In other American Electric Power news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,057 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.94, for a total transaction of $829,387.58. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,707,116.12. This represents a 23.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.68, for a total transaction of $1,041,277.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $991,683.44. This represents a 51.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $101.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $54.38 billion, a PE ratio of 18.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.42. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $85.93 and a 1 year high of $110.48. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $104.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.00.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $5.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors 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 yield of 3.65%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 71.68%.

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.