Aviance Capital Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 151.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,135 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,300 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AEP. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 5,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 3,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power by 4.2% in the first quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 14,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,186,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In other news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 6,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $563,476.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,385 shares in the company, valued at $563,476.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at approximately $580,140. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP opened at $87.28 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $46.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.19, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.53. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.38 and a 12-month high of $93.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $88.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.19.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 11.23%. American Electric Power’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.11 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on AEP. Barclays lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. StockNews.com raised American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group lowered American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $83.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.62.

About American Electric Power

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.