United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lessened its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,688 shares of the company’s stock after selling 423 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,690,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,767,425,000 after acquiring an additional 763,813 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 15,060,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,389,032,000 after acquiring an additional 543,054 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,808,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,178,174,000 after purchasing an additional 283,311 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in American Electric Power by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,603,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $793,510,000 after acquiring an additional 716,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,644,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $427,009,000 after purchasing an additional 100,578 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Price Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $107.71 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.49. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.75 and a twelve month high of $110.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.44.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is presently 66.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped 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, March 26th. Finally, Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.