Victory Capital Management Inc. Increases Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 878,901 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 163,297 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.17% of American Electric Power worth $90,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AEP. UBS Group increased their price target on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. 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 research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on American Electric Power from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Two 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.27.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP traded up $0.43 during trading on Thursday, reaching $93.76. 2,570,353 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,151,654. The firm has a market cap of $49.89 billion, a PE ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.22 and a fifty-two week high of $105.18.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This is a positive change from American Electric Power's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. 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 3.97%. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.55%.

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.