Choate Investment Advisors Purchases New Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Choate Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $419,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AEP. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth $220,983,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 109.5% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in American Electric Power by 4.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,902,755 shares of the company's stock worth $2,760,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,954 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 18.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company's stock valued at $704,549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at approximately $80,207,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AEP shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays cut their price target on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $102.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of American Electric Power from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $99.92.

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American Electric Power Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP traded down $1.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $105.11. 5,649,156 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,764,280. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $101.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.44. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $79.16 and a twelve month high of $109.52. The company has a market cap of $56.10 billion, a PE ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio is currently 66.43%.

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.