American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Sold by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 19.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,046 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,181 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 14.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 28,591,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,150,657,000 after purchasing an additional 3,589,451 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at about $175,667,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 67.7% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,586,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043,885 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 4.1% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 14,892,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,120,240,000 after purchasing an additional 587,145 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,326,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $87.74 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $88.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.16. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.38 and a twelve month high of $93.44. The company has a market capitalization of $46.25 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

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

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $440,820.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $580,140. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total value of $518,910.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $563,476.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $440,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,446 shares in the company, valued at $580,140. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on AEP. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.62.

American Electric Power Company 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.