Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 51,467 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,183,200 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,467 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.60% of American Electric Power worth $326,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smithfield Trust Co raised its stake in American Electric Power by 52.9% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 65,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,696,000 after purchasing an additional 3,231 shares during the last quarter. GS Investments Inc. boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 93.7% in the 3rd quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 21,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,197,000 after purchasing an additional 10,359 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,285,000. Finally, German American Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in American Electric Power by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Scotiabank boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.00.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $97.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.93 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.55. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.22 and a 52-week high of $105.18.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This is an increase from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 74.55%.

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.