First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Sells 27,738 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lessened its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 84.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,982 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,738 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $459,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in American Electric Power by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,902,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,760,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,954 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power by 2.9% in the 3rd 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 period. FMR LLC grew its stake 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 worth $704,549,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,163 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 341,846 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew 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 worth $385,079,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962,125 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AEP. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. 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 cut their price target on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Guggenheim upgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.00.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $102.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $54.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.22 and a 1-year high of $105.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $94.87 and its 200 day moving average is $97.32.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is 74.55%.

About American Electric Power

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.