Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 1,841 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 10.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,449 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,841 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,688,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AEP. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at $1,731,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 47.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,900,000 after purchasing an additional 10,868 shares during the last quarter. PFG Advisors increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 5,125 shares of the company’s stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its position in American Electric Power by 6.7% in the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 102,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,808,000 after buying an additional 6,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the first quarter worth about $213,000. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America raised their target price on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.27.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP stock opened at $96.40 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $74.97 and a twelve month high of $105.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company has a market cap of $51.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s fifty day moving average is $100.51 and its 200-day moving average is $94.93.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. This is a boost from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.54%.

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.