Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Increases Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,277 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 208 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $487,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AEP. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in American Electric Power by 37.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 189,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,593,000 after acquiring an additional 51,217 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 1.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 54,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,773,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 25,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,243,000 after buying an additional 1,317 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 32.5% in the 2nd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 34,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,016,000 after buying an additional 8,439 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $862,000 after acquiring an additional 969 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AEP shares. Bank of America raised shares of American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $98.00 to $104.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price target (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.00.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP opened at $98.05 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $52.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.22 and a 52-week high of $105.18.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.55%.

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.