Aviance Capital Partners LLC Buys 4,300 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 151.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,135 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,300 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirador Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 9,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $809,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares during the period. LVW Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 43.5% during the 1st quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 11,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after acquiring an additional 3,535 shares during the period. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,270,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 2.1% in the first quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 47,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,092,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the period. Finally, First Bank & Trust raised its stake in American Electric Power by 21.1% in the first quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 29,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,562,000 after purchasing an additional 5,185 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $86.00 in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on American Electric Power from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group cut shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $83.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.62.

Insider Activity

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

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP opened at $87.28 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.19. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.38 and a 12 month high of $93.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.53.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.