Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 12,019 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC cut its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 296,744 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,019 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.06% of American Electric Power worth $24,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 304.8% in the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 425 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 91.6% in the third quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $88.60 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $84.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.36. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.38 and a 1 year high of $92.88. The company has a market cap of $46.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.50.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Scotiabank upped their target price on American Electric Power from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Cfra reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price target (up from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. UBS Group lowered American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $86.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.14.

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.