Empower Advisory Group LLC Buys 26,653 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 798,194 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,653 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $87,219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 9.1% in 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 period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings 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 valued at $649,983,000 after buying an additional 85,756 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in American Electric Power by 51.0% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,416,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $591,791,000 after acquiring an additional 2,165,888 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,120,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,851,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,432,000 after acquiring an additional 272,997 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on AEP. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Scotiabank raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $122.00 price target (up previously from $115.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.29.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.3%

American Electric Power stock opened at $115.00 on Tuesday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $89.91 and a 1 year high of $115.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $104.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $61.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.81, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.40.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $5.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 17.68% and a return on equity of 11.55%. American Electric Power’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 54.39%.

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 that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,658 shares in the company, valued at $991,683.44. This trade represents a 51.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.74, for a total value of $819,820.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 10,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,045,276.76. The trade was a 43.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,314 shares of company stock worth $3,508,293 over the last quarter. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company 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.