CENTRAL TRUST Co Decreases Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

CENTRAL TRUST Co decreased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP – Get Rating) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,535 shares of the company’s stock after selling 120 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,256,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in American Electric Power by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,105,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,792,380,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327,884 shares during the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its stake in American Electric Power by 64.0% in the 2nd quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 2,859,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,634,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,136 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 98.6% in the 3rd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,049,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,197,000 after acquiring an additional 1,017,612 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,540,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,109,904,000 after acquiring an additional 712,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 29.9% in the 3rd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 3,066,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,269,000 after acquiring an additional 706,762 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Cfra raised their target price on American Electric Power from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on American Electric Power from $112.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Mizuho cut their target price on American Electric Power from $104.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.83.

American Electric Power Trading Up 2.6 %

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $92.59 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $47.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.53, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.28. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.30 and a 12-month high of $105.60.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 23rd. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $4.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 10.75% and a net margin of 11.77%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 10th were paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 9th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 73.61%.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In related news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 884 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.99, for a total value of $80,435.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,331 shares in the company, valued at $667,047.69. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other American Electric Power news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 3,998 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.44, for a total transaction of $357,581.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,714 shares in the company, valued at $1,405,460.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 884 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.99, for a total value of $80,435.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $667,047.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 63,897 shares of company stock worth $5,723,900. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Electric Power Profile

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American Electric Power Co, Inc engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates through the following segments: Vertically Integrated Utilities, Transmission and Distribution Utilities, AEP Transmission Holdco, and Generation and Marketing. The Vertically Integrated Utilities segment covers the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale to retail and wholesale customers.