American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Acquired by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 218,045 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,281 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $23,826,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,690,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,767,425,000 after acquiring an additional 763,813 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 15,060,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,389,032,000 after purchasing an additional 543,054 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $1,178,174,000 after purchasing an additional 283,311 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,603,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $793,510,000 after purchasing an additional 716,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,047,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $649,983,000 after purchasing an additional 85,756 shares during the last quarter. 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 $103.02 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $104.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.40, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.42. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $85.93 and a twelve month high of $110.48. 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 (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $5.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The company’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup raised their price target on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Bank of America raised their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.75.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction 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 $991,683.44. This trade represents a 51.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.49, for a total value of $817,806.42. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 18,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,860,514.68. This represents a 30.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 26,256 shares of company stock worth $2,688,472. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.