ABN AMRO Bank N.V. Buys Shares of 7,066 American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

ABN AMRO Bank N.V. bought a new position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 7,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $786,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Advantage Trust Co grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 57.1% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 166.0% during the second quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 282 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 277.1% during the 2nd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on American Electric Power from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Barclays boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $137.00 in a research note on Monday, November 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.39.

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In other American Electric Power news, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total transaction of $575,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,980,082.86. The trade was a 16.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of AEP stock opened at $120.61 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $97.46 and a fifty-two week high of $124.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.42 billion, a PE ratio of 17.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.69. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $117.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.34.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is 55.39%.

American Electric Power Profile

American Electric Power (NASDAQ: AEP) is a major investor-owned electric utility headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The company is primarily engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, operating a diverse portfolio of power plants and an extensive high-voltage transmission network. AEP serves retail customers through its regulated utility subsidiaries and provides wholesale power and grid services across multiple regional markets in the United States.

Operations span the full utility value chain: AEP owns and operates generation assets that include fossil-fuel, natural gas, nuclear and hydropower facilities, and it has been adding renewable resources to its mix.