Motco Cuts Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Motco lessened its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,794 shares of the company’s stock after selling 529 shares during the quarter. Motco’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $4,961,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. XML Financial LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 3.8% in the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC now owns 19,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY increased its position in American Electric Power by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY now owns 5,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AEP shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America raised shares of American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays cut their price objective on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.46.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of AEP stock opened at $105.16 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $97.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.31. The firm has a market cap of $56.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.16 and a 1-year high of $107.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.43%.

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.