Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 51,467 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,183,200 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 51,467 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.60% of American Electric Power worth $326,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 57.2% in the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 52.1% in the second quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc now owns 438 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Electric Power during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They set a "hold" rating and a $107.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price target 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. Bank of America raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.00.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ AEP traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $97.59. The company had a trading volume of 2,048,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,502,202. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $75.22 and a one year high of $105.18. The company has a market capitalization of $51.93 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.46.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. This is a boost from American Electric Power's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio is currently 74.55%.

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.