Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Cuts Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 14.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,984 shares of the company’s stock after selling 488 shares during the period. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AEP. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,225,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,998,081,000 after acquiring an additional 425,649 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 28,591,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,150,657,000 after acquiring an additional 3,589,451 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 14,892,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,120,240,000 after acquiring an additional 587,145 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,714,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,308,000 after acquiring an additional 374,300 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,311,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $324,304,000 after acquiring an additional 660,599 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $440,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,446 shares in the company, valued at $580,140. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other American Electric Power news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total value of $518,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,385 shares in the company, valued at $563,476.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $440,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $580,140. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Barclays raised their price target on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Scotiabank raised their price target on American Electric Power from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.62.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.6 %

American Electric Power stock traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $87.74. The stock had a trading volume of 3,685,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,534,441. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market cap of $46.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.53. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.38 and a 12 month high of $93.44. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $88.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.16.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 14.60%. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.31%.

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.