MONECO Advisors LLC Takes Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

MONECO Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in American Electric Power by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,225,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,998,081,000 after buying an additional 425,649 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in 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 worth $2,150,657,000 after buying an additional 3,589,451 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in American Electric Power by 4.1% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 14,892,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,120,240,000 after buying an additional 587,145 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in American Electric Power by 5.1% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,714,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,308,000 after buying an additional 374,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 18.1% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,311,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $324,304,000 after buying an additional 660,599 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. UBS Group cut shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $86.00 to $83.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.92.

Insider Activity

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

American Electric Power Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $87.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $46.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $87.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.71. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.38 and a 52 week high of $93.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

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

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.01%. American Electric Power’s 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.