Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. Trims Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. reduced its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 46.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,465 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,288 shares during the quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $151,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AEP. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its stake in American Electric Power by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 89,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,183,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Garrison Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 0.6% in the third quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC now owns 19,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 262.7% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 140,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,462,000 after purchasing an additional 102,093 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 196,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,185,000 after buying an additional 2,701 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,533,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,312,000 after buying an additional 152,381 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price target on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $107.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.43.

American Electric Power Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $98.40 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.97 and a 12-month high of $105.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $100.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.55.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. This is a positive change from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.12%.

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.