PharVision Advisers LLC Takes $698,000 Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $698,000. American Electric Power makes up approximately 0.6% of PharVision Advisers LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter worth about $220,983,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 51.0% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,416,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $591,791,000 after purchasing an additional 2,165,888 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter worth approximately $121,605,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,120,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,317 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,690,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,767,425,000 after buying an additional 763,813 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $103.73 on Wednesday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.93 and a 1-year high of $110.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The business’s 50 day moving average is $105.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.14. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. The firm had revenue of $5.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.68, for a total transaction of $1,041,277.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $991,683.44. This trade represents a 51.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AEP. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $114.00 price target on shares of American Electric Power and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Guggenheim raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.77.

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.