Bessemer Group Inc. Buys 396,436 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 22.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,159,456 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 396,436 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $242,938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 102.3% in the 3rd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 44,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,017,000 after buying an additional 22,548 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 6,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $263,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 4.6% during the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 51,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,836,000 after acquiring an additional 2,268 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEP has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $128.00 to $133.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Williams Trading set a $137.00 price objective on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $127.39.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $119.98 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.53. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $97.46 and a 1 year high of $124.80. The firm has a market cap of $64.08 billion, a PE ratio of 17.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $115.31.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is presently 55.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Benjamin G. S. Fowke III sold 5,000 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total value of $575,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,980,082.86. This trade represents a 16.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Company 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.