Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 1,980 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,163 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,980 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $2,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AEP. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth about $220,983,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 109.5% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,753,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $385,079,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962,125 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in American Electric Power by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,902,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,760,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,954 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $704,549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management acquired a new stake in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter worth about $80,207,000. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of American Electric Power stock opened at $106.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.68 billion, a PE ratio of 18.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $101.66 and its 200 day moving average is $99.05. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.16 and a 1 year high of $109.52.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 66.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on AEP shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Scotiabank cut shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.92.

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.