Carnegie Investment Counsel Has $803,000 Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 57.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,705 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,193 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel's holdings in American Electric Power were worth $803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AEP. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 10,177.1% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 109.5% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,753,250 shares of the company's stock valued at $385,079,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962,125 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 4.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,902,755 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,760,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,954 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company's stock valued at $704,549,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $80,207,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP traded up $0.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $97.25. 2,728,461 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,164,280. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $75.22 and a one year high of $105.18. The company's 50 day moving average is $94.52 and its 200 day moving average is $96.91. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $51.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.56.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.93 dividend. This is an increase from American Electric Power's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. American Electric Power's payout ratio is currently 74.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AEP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $102.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank downgraded American Electric Power from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lowered their target price on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.00.

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.