American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Sold by GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC reduced its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 19.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,287 shares of the company’s stock after selling 544 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 23,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after acquiring an additional 4,370 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 436.9% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $654,000 after purchasing an additional 5,771 shares during the last quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth about $419,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in American Electric Power by 3.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,667,000 after purchasing an additional 19,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New England Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at about $3,404,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on AEP. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.00.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $98.36 on Monday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.22 and a 12-month high of $105.18. 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 has a market cap of $52.34 billion, a PE ratio of 19.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.57.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.