Wealthfront Advisers LLC Has $13.04 Million Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 115,893 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,940 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $13,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 0.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,467,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,444,057,000 after acquiring an additional 197,998 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in American Electric Power by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,516,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,958,869,000 after purchasing an additional 653,712 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,352,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,379,532,000 after purchasing an additional 285,000 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,802,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $809,557,000 after purchasing an additional 432,441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,912,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $509,709,000 after purchasing an additional 272,214 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Bank of America lowered American Electric Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $131.00 to $122.00 in a research report on Monday, January 12th. UBS Group cut their target price on American Electric Power from $114.00 to $107.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, TD Cowen raised American Electric Power to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $127.39.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP stock opened at $121.23 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company’s 50-day moving average is $117.08 and its 200-day moving average is $115.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.62. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $97.46 and a 1 year high of $124.80.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.39%.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In other news, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total transaction of $575,350.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,980,082.86. This represents a 16.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Electric Power Profile

American Electric Power (NASDAQ: AEP) is a major investor-owned electric utility headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The company is primarily engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, operating a diverse portfolio of power plants and an extensive high-voltage transmission network. AEP serves retail customers through its regulated utility subsidiaries and provides wholesale power and grid services across multiple regional markets in the United States.

Operations span the full utility value chain: AEP owns and operates generation assets that include fossil-fuel, natural gas, nuclear and hydropower facilities, and it has been adding renewable resources to its mix.