State of Michigan Retirement System Acquires 300 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 0.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 144,358 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $12,666,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AEP. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter worth $27,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the first quarter worth $29,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 935.9% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

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

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $99.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $52.20 billion, a PE ratio of 18.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.53. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.38 and a 1 year high of $104.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $93.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. American Electric Power’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is 65.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on AEP. StockNews.com raised shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target 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. Bank of America lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $96.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.69.

American Electric Power 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.