American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Purchased by DAVENPORT & Co LLC

DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 57,574 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,288 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $5,310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its position in American Electric Power by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 23,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after buying an additional 4,370 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 436.9% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $654,000 after purchasing an additional 5,771 shares during the last quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth $419,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,667,000 after purchasing an additional 19,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New England Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth $3,404,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $99.36 on Tuesday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.22 and a 52-week high of $105.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $95.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.60. The firm has a market cap of $52.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.56.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AEP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank cut shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.00.

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.