American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Sold by AMG National Trust Bank

AMG National Trust Bank lowered its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,663 shares of the company’s stock after selling 353 shares during the quarter. AMG National Trust Bank’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,995,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,902,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,760,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,954 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,524,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,280,655,000 after purchasing an additional 352,588 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 18.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $704,549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,163 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,644,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $427,009,000 after purchasing an additional 100,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,844,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $354,551,000 after purchasing an additional 84,704 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP opened at $104.62 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.78 billion, a PE ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $98.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.58. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.16 and a 52-week high of $109.52.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price target (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank cut American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays reduced their price objective on 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, Bank of America raised American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.46.

American Electric Power 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.