Investment Partners LTD. Sells 700 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Investment Partners LTD. lessened its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,786 shares of the company’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. Investment Partners LTD.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Apella Capital LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth $348,000. Rockline Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth $1,982,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 28.1% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 50,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,096,000 after acquiring an additional 11,065 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 1,592.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 414,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,612,000 after acquiring an additional 389,675 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in American Electric Power by 26.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,531,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,432,000 after buying an additional 522,608 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

American Electric Power stock traded down $1.60 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $85.26. 2,975,865 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,656,889. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.38 and a 52-week high of $93.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $83.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $44.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.06, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.51.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.03). American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 11.64%. The business had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. American Electric Power’s quarterly revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 82.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on American Electric Power from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on American Electric Power from $92.00 to $86.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on American Electric Power from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Cfra reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 target price (up from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $75.50 to $73.00 in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.08.

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.