Centre Asset Management LLC Sells 169 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Centre Asset Management LLC decreased its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,840 shares of the company’s stock after selling 169 shares during the period. Centre Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Apella Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth about $348,000. Rockline Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,982,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 28.1% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 50,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,096,000 after acquiring an additional 11,065 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 34.7% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 62,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,115,000 after acquiring an additional 16,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 1,592.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 414,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,612,000 after purchasing an additional 389,675 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $73.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. UBS Group downgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $83.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.92.

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

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

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of AEP traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $87.55. 1,824,911 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,417,063. The stock has a market cap of $46.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $87.86 and a 200-day moving average of $83.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.54. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.38 and a 52 week high of $93.44.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.02. The firm 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%. American Electric Power’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

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.