Cerity Partners LLC Increases Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 23.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,104 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,438 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $9,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 1.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 724,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,381,000 after acquiring an additional 12,894 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,126,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in American Electric Power by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 49,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,257,000 after buying an additional 2,145 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 1st quarter worth $382,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 27.2% in the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 77,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,664,000 after acquiring an additional 16,568 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AEP shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.93.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $99.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.22 and a 12-month high of $105.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $98.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.64.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. This is an increase from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 74.55%.

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.