First Bank & Trust Sells 3,592 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

First Bank & Trust reduced its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 11.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,171 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,592 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $2,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 352,588 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 18.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $704,549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,163 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,644,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $427,009,000 after purchasing an additional 100,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 109.5% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,753,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,079,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962,125 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

American Electric Power stock opened at $103.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $96.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.99. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.16 and a 52-week high of $105.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.58.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.24. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AEP shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays lowered their price target on 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. UBS Group raised their price target on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.00.

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.