Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. Grows Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP – Get Rating) by 3.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 32,023 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,216 shares during the period. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $2,768,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the first quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Paragon Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the third quarter valued at $38,000. 74.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 884 shares of American Electric Power 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,331 shares in the company, valued at $667,047.69. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 884 shares of American Electric Power 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,331 shares in the company, valued at $667,047.69. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 3,998 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.44, for a total value of $357,581.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,405,460.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 63,897 shares of company stock worth $5,723,900. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEP has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on American Electric Power from $105.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 16th. Mizuho lowered 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. Cfra lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 24th. Finally, Bank of America cut American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $101.00 to $98.00 in a report on Monday, December 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.83.

American Electric Power Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of AEP stock opened at $92.01 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.30 and a 12-month high of $105.60. 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 moving average price is $91.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.44.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 23rd. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.06. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 10.75% and a net margin of 11.77%. The firm had revenue of $4.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 10th were issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 9th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.61%.

About American Electric Power

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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.