Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Sells 6,634 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lowered its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 394,104 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,634 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $36,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its position in American Electric Power by 4.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,902,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,760,223,000 after buying an additional 1,114,954 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 352,588 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $704,549,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,163 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,543,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,191,000 after purchasing an additional 341,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 109.5% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,753,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $385,079,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962,125 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.8 %

American Electric Power stock opened at $96.82 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. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.22 and a fifty-two week high of $105.18. The stock has a market cap of $51.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $94.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.77.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.84%. This is a boost from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AEP shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five 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 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.