Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Sells 1,511 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. reduced its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,465 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,511 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $7,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. SouthState Corp boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 6,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 27,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,572,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 4,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions 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 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. This trade represents a 51.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,057 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.94, for a total transaction of $829,387.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,298 shares in the company, valued at $2,707,116.12. This trade represents a 23.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,256 shares of company stock worth $2,688,472 over the last ninety days. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $102.90 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $104.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.12. The stock has a market cap of $54.97 billion, a PE ratio of 18.38, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.42. 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 Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.93 and a fifty-two week high of $110.48.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $5.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. American Electric Power’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is presently 71.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Raymond James started coverage on American Electric Power in a research report on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $108.31.

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.