Captrust Financial Advisors Sells 4,684 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Captrust Financial Advisors decreased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 81,210 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,684 shares during the quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in American Electric Power were worth $8,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. OLD National Bancorp IN grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 14.4% in the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 120,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,572,000 after acquiring an additional 15,138 shares during the last quarter. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC now owns 42,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,730,000 after purchasing an additional 4,971 shares during the period. New England Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter worth $3,404,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 1,140.5% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 456,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,070,000 after purchasing an additional 419,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV increased its stake in American Electric Power by 244.3% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 294,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,217,000 after acquiring an additional 208,974 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

American Electric Power stock opened at $99.86 on Monday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.22 and a 1 year high of $105.18. The company has a market cap of $53.14 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company’s 50-day moving average is $98.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.82.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. This is an increase from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is 74.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on American Electric Power in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $107.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.93.

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.