Essex Financial Services Inc. Buys 432 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 6.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,737 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $736,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AEP. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $978,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at about $149,000. Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its stake in American Electric Power by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 20,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,870,000 after acquiring an additional 908 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at about $819,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Electric Power news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.74, for a total value of $819,820.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,045,276.76. This trade represents a 43.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $1,041,277.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $991,683.44. The trade was a 51.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,314 shares of company stock worth $3,508,293. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. One research 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $108.31.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of AEP stock opened at $103.76 on Tuesday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $86.83 and a 1 year high of $110.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $103.58 and its 200-day moving average is $101.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.99, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced 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. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.73% and a return on equity of 11.68%. The company had revenue of $5.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. American Electric Power’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.59%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is presently 71.68%.

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.