Claro Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Claro Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 11,026 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,225,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,998,081,000 after purchasing an additional 425,649 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in American Electric Power by 14.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 3,589,451 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 14,892,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,120,240,000 after purchasing an additional 587,145 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,714,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $580,308,000 after purchasing an additional 374,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,983,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,311,000 after purchasing an additional 147,826 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on American Electric Power from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.62.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $87.28 on Tuesday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.38 and a 52-week high of $93.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.19, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $88.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.54.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In other American Electric Power news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $440,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $580,140. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $580,140. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total transaction of $518,910.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $563,476.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.