American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Stock Holdings Cut by Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc.

Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 0.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 15,784 shares of the company’s stock after selling 132 shares during the period. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 1.5% during the 4th 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 last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 15,060,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,389,032,000 after acquiring an additional 543,054 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,808,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,178,174,000 after buying an additional 283,311 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in American Electric Power by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,603,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $793,510,000 after buying an additional 716,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in American Electric Power by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,047,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $649,983,000 after buying an additional 85,756 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AEP. Guggenheim raised their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.69.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.6%

American Electric Power stock opened at $103.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $85.93 and a one year high of $110.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.10 billion, a PE ratio of 18.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s fifty day moving average is $104.88 and its 200 day moving average is $100.73.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.14. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. The company had revenue of $5.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. American Electric Power’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.68%.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In other American Electric Power news, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.68, for a total value of $1,041,277.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $991,683.44. This trade represents a 51.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.