Savvy Advisors Inc. Grows Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Savvy Advisors Inc. increased its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,284 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,630,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,273,181,000 after purchasing an additional 405,114 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 9.9% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,586,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $739,303,000 after buying an additional 776,965 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 8.1% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,543,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,191,000 after buying an additional 341,846 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 1.1% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,378,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,433,000 after buying an additional 35,769 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in American Electric Power by 542.4% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,282,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,541,000 after acquiring an additional 1,927,234 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AEP shares. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays upped their price target on American Electric Power from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on American Electric Power from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.27.

American Electric Power Price Performance

American Electric Power stock opened at $92.96 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.57. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $74.97 and a one year high of $105.18. The company has a market cap of $49.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $100.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.05.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. 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 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.