American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Sold by Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. reduced its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 18.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,226 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,301 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $3,673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Carret Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 60,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,909,000 after buying an additional 1,372 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth approximately $172,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 567 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC now owns 8,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $677,000 after buying an additional 2,308 shares during the period. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 19,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,573,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Price Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $85.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.51. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.38 and a 1 year high of $93.56. The business’s fifty day moving average is $83.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.53.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.03). The company 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%. American Electric Power’s quarterly revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AEP. UBS Group downgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $86.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on American Electric Power from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Cfra restated a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 target price (up from $90.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $75.50 to $73.00 in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on American Electric Power from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.08.

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.