Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. Buys 112 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,105 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,667,000 after acquiring an additional 19,081 shares during the last quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter worth $3,404,000. ING Groep NV raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 244.3% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 294,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,217,000 after purchasing an additional 208,974 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 115,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,650,000 after buying an additional 7,073 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pines Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth about $303,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $97.25 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $51.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.56. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.22 and a 1 year high of $105.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $94.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. This is a boost from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank downgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price target (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.00.

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.