B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Takes $1.82 Million Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 17,692 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,815,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AEP. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 120,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,572,000 after acquiring an additional 15,138 shares in the last quarter. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC now owns 42,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,730,000 after acquiring an additional 4,971 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 1,140.5% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 456,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,070,000 after buying an additional 419,870 shares during the period. New England Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the third quarter worth $3,404,000. Finally, ING Groep NV increased its position in American Electric Power by 244.3% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 294,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,217,000 after buying an additional 208,974 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP stock opened at $97.75 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.22 and a 1 year high of $105.18. The company has a market cap of $52.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $99.24 and a 200 day moving average of $95.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. This is a positive change from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.27.

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.