Martingale Asset Management L P Purchases 105,334 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Martingale Asset Management L P raised its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 1,407.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 112,820 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 105,334 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $11,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its stake in American Electric Power by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 120,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,572,000 after purchasing an additional 15,138 shares in the last quarter. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC now owns 42,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,730,000 after acquiring an additional 4,971 shares during the last quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,404,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 1,140.5% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 456,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,070,000 after acquiring an additional 419,870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 244.3% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 294,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,217,000 after acquiring an additional 208,974 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP opened at $99.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.41. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.22 and a 1-year high of $105.18. The company has a market capitalization of $53.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $98.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.76.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. This is an increase from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 74.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AEP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.93.

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.