Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC Takes Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 10,279 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $948,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 15,060,525 shares of the company's stock worth $1,389,032,000 after buying an additional 543,054 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in American Electric Power by 2.3% during the 4th 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. lifted its holdings in American Electric Power by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,603,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $793,510,000 after buying an additional 716,229 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,644,349 shares of the company's stock worth $427,009,000 after purchasing an additional 100,578 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Guggenheim upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America upped their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $101.08.

American Electric Power Stock Down 1.8 %

AEP stock traded down $1.93 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $105.78. The stock had a trading volume of 394,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,155,448. The business has a 50-day moving average of $104.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $83.68 and a 52-week high of $110.48. The firm has a market cap of $56.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share 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 $0.93 dividend. 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 3.52%. American Electric Power's payout ratio is presently 66.43%.

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.