Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 3,091,420 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Wellington Management Group LLP lessened its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 14.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 17,778,968 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,091,420 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,639,754,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Skba Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Skba Capital Management LLC now owns 101,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,374,000 after buying an additional 5,200 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 94,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,729,000 after acquiring an additional 15,825 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,207,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,402,000 after acquiring an additional 230,562 shares during the period. Joseph Group Capital Management increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 32,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,967,000 after purchasing an additional 7,417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,468,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $106.96 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.10. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.16 and a twelve month high of $109.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.24. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 66.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank downgraded American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim upgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.77.

American Electric Power Company Profile

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.