American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Sold by Freedom Investment Management Inc.

Freedom Investment Management Inc. lowered its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 6.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 12,232 shares of the company’s stock after selling 799 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AEP. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 10,177.1% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,982,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,399,000 after buying an additional 1,963,154 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 18.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $704,549,000 after buying an additional 1,087,163 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 51.1% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,844,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,877,000 after buying an additional 623,789 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 1,140.5% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 456,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,070,000 after buying an additional 419,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 8,396.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 351,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $361,070,000 after buying an additional 347,776 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of AEP stock opened at $99.89 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $98.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.67. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.22 and a 12 month high of $105.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $53.15 billion, a PE ratio of 20.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.55.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This is a boost from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on AEP. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Friday, September 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.93.

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.