Hartford Investment Management Co. Has $3.42 Million Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Hartford Investment Management Co. cut its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,368 shares of the company’s stock after selling 391 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $3,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 57.2% in the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in American Electric Power by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Bank of Stockton boosted its position in American Electric Power by 2.2% during the second quarter. Bank of Stockton now owns 5,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. First United Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 17.1% in the third quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on AEP. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Electric Power from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on American Electric Power in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.43.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $100.83 on Thursday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.75 and a 1 year high of $105.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.63.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 13.52%. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. This is a boost from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is 65.31%.

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.