American Century Companies Inc. Trims Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

American Century Companies Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 255,554 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,451 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $23,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 50,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,655,000 after buying an additional 15,970 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,085,000. Sciencast Management LP acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,335,000. Summit Global Investments raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 180.7% during the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 39,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,607,000 after purchasing an additional 25,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth $210,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on AEP. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim upgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price target (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.77.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of AEP stock opened at $106.96 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $57.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.16 and a fifty-two week high of $109.52. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.12.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.43%.

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.