Welch Group LLC Has $874,000 Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Welch Group LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 18.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,167 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,296 shares during the quarter. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $874,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $220,983,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 51.0% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,416,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $591,791,000 after acquiring an additional 2,165,888 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 13,499.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,150,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,954,000 after acquiring an additional 2,134,404 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $121,605,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in American Electric Power by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,120,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $472,270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105,317 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP stock opened at $102.53 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $104.87 and a 200-day moving average of $100.66. 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 Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.93 and a 12 month high of $110.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.14. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The company had revenue of $5.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. American Electric Power’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 71.68%.

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In other news, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.68, for a total value of $1,041,277.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $991,683.44. The trade was a 51.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.69.

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.