Brown Advisory Inc. Sells 844 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Brown Advisory Inc. reduced its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,214 shares of the company’s stock after selling 844 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BLB&B Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 3,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 3,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $404,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its stake in American Electric Power by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 14,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,186,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in American Electric Power by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $89.28 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.38 and a twelve month high of $93.44. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.38. The company has a market capitalization of $47.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

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

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 65.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $75.50 to $73.00 in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. UBS Group lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.43.

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.