Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 1,980 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 28,163 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,980 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $2,597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.3 %

American Electric Power stock opened at $106.21 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.16 and a 1-year high of $109.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $101.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 66.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AEP. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.92.

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.