Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Increases Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,644,349 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 100,578 shares during the period. American Electric Power comprises approximately 0.7% of Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $427,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 4.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,902,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,760,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,954 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,524,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,280,655,000 after purchasing an additional 352,588 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $704,549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,163 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 109.5% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,753,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,079,000 after buying an additional 1,962,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,183,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,596,000 after buying an additional 51,467 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $101.88 on Wednesday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $76.31 and a twelve month high of $105.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $95.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.83. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $54.21 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.58.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 74.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on AEP. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank cut shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 price target (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays cut 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.00.

American Electric Power 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.