American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Stake Trimmed by First County Bank CT

First County Bank CT cut its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,884 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,429 shares during the quarter. First County Bank CT’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in American Electric Power by 3.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,667,000 after buying an additional 19,081 shares during the period. New England Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,404,000. ING Groep NV lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 244.3% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 294,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,217,000 after purchasing an additional 208,974 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the third quarter worth approximately $1,815,000. Finally, L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,398,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AEP. 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered 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 research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.13.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP traded up $0.42 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $90.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,240,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,024,137. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $95.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.56. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.22 and a 12 month high of $105.18.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This is an increase from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.55%.

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.