Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Decreases Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,094,833 shares of the company’s stock after selling 69,142 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.96% of American Electric Power worth $522,730,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AEP. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in American Electric Power by 10,177.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,982,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,399,000 after buying an additional 1,963,154 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 578.2% during the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 975,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,948,000 after purchasing an additional 831,235 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in American Electric Power by 9.9% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,586,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $739,303,000 after purchasing an additional 776,965 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 51.1% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,844,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,877,000 after purchasing an additional 623,789 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in American Electric Power by 1,140.5% in 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AEP shares. Barclays increased their price target on American Electric Power from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.27.

American Electric Power Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of AEP stock opened at $97.75 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.40. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.22 and a 52 week high of $105.18. The stock has a market cap of $52.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This is a boost from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.55%.

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.