American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Sold by Heartland Bank & Trust Co

Heartland Bank & Trust Co lowered its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,187 shares of the company’s stock after selling 132 shares during the quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $386,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the third quarter worth about $48,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEP has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. 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. Scotiabank downgraded American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lowered their price target 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. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.00.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.7 %

American Electric Power stock opened at $98.18 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $94.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.32. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.22 and a fifty-two week high of $105.18. The company has a market capitalization of $52.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.56.

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 $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.