Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV Cuts Stock Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV lowered its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 15,384 shares of the company’s stock after selling 203 shares during the quarter. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 purchasing an additional 763,813 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 543,054 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,808,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,178,174,000 after acquiring an additional 283,311 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,603,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $793,510,000 after buying an additional 716,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 1.2% in 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 in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AEP. UBS Group raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $108.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Electric Power

In other news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.74, for a total value of $819,820.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 10,274 shares in the company, valued at $1,045,276.76. This trade represents a 43.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $991,683.44. This represents a 51.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,314 shares of company stock worth $3,508,293 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP opened at $107.40 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $57.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.69, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.42. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $89.91 and a fifty-two week high of $110.48. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $102.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.68% and a net margin of 13.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.68%.

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.