Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 879,435 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 70,047 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.17% of American Electric Power worth $80,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AEP. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 57,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,310,000 after purchasing an additional 3,288 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 23,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after acquiring an additional 4,370 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 436.9% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 5,771 shares during the period. J2 Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth approximately $419,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted 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 valued at $65,667,000 after purchasing an additional 19,081 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ AEP opened at $105.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $56.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $79.16 and a 1-year high of $109.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $102.58 and a 200-day moving average of $99.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank downgraded American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price target (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Guggenheim raised shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target 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, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.77.

American Electric Power Company 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.