JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 738,756 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,075,032 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 738,756 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.58% of American Electric Power worth $315,498,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AEP. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 57.2% during the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 2.0% in the second quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. XML Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 3.8% in the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Garrison Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 0.6% during the third quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC now owns 19,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,950,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 2.2% during the third quarter. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY now owns 5,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP opened at $92.51 on Monday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.22 and a 52-week high of $105.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $49.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.39.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This is an increase from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 74.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AEP. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Scotiabank lowered American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price target (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned 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 $97.13.

American Electric Power Company 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.