JGP Wealth Management LLC Sells 792 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

JGP Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,983 shares of the company’s stock after selling 792 shares during the quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the first quarter worth $40,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the 1st quarter valued at $211,000. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its stake in American Electric Power by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 30,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,074,000 after buying an additional 3,558 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in American Electric Power by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 205,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,569,000 after buying an additional 30,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in American Electric Power by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 36,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,643,000 after buying an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. 74.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $81.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Mizuho downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $83.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Cfra reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective (up previously from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $87.08.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ AEP traded up $0.05 during trading on Monday, reaching $82.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,885,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,215,992. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.51. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.38 and a 12 month high of $96.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $80.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.03.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.12 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 11.64% and a return on equity of 11.04%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.82%.

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.