Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 210,803 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,269 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $23,715,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in American Electric Power by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,654,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $411,111,000 after purchasing an additional 30,138 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 14,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,681,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 4.9% in the third quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,612,000 after acquiring an additional 1,512 shares during the period. Novare Capital Management LLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 7.7% during the third quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Little House Capital LLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 4.4% during the third quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 16,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,869,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEP has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America downgraded American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $131.00 to $122.00 in a research note on Monday, January 12th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH decreased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $124.50 to $117.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Electric Power news, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total value of $575,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,980,082.86. This represents a 16.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.1%

American Electric Power stock opened at $119.21 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $97.32 and a 12-month high of $124.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $117.27 and a 200 day moving average of $114.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.81 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.65 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 17.23% and a return on equity of 11.00%. American Electric Power’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 55.39%.

American Electric Power Company Profile

American Electric Power (NASDAQ: AEP) is a major investor-owned electric utility headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The company is primarily engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, operating a diverse portfolio of power plants and an extensive high-voltage transmission network. AEP serves retail customers through its regulated utility subsidiaries and provides wholesale power and grid services across multiple regional markets in the United States.

Operations span the full utility value chain: AEP owns and operates generation assets that include fossil-fuel, natural gas, nuclear and hydropower facilities, and it has been adding renewable resources to its mix.