Sapient Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 2,002 American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in American Electric Power by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,690,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,767,425,000 after purchasing an additional 763,813 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 15,060,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,389,032,000 after buying an additional 543,054 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,808,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,178,174,000 after acquiring an additional 283,311 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,603,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $793,510,000 after acquiring an additional 716,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,047,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $649,983,000 after acquiring an additional 85,756 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on AEP. Bank of America lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.31.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $102.90 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.93 and a 52-week high of $110.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $54.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $104.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.12.

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

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 71.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Electric Power

In other news, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were 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 owns 9,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $991,683.44. This represents a 51.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,057 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.94, for a total transaction of $829,387.58. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,707,116.12. The trade was a 23.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,256 shares of company stock valued at $2,688,472. Company insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

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.