American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,209,675 shares of the company's stock after selling 42,614 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.23% of American Electric Power worth $124,137,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AEP. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Electric Power by 57.2% during the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in American Electric Power by 2.0% during the second quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,286 shares of the company's stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 3.8% during the third quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 2,921 shares of the company's stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC now owns 19,009 shares of the company's stock worth $1,950,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY now owns 5,025 shares of the company's stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. 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 note on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on American Electric Power in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $107.00 price target on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target 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. Bank of America raised their price target 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. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.20.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AEP traded down $0.77 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $96.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,832,278 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,120,509. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.22 and a 1 year high of $105.18. 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 stock has a market cap of $51.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.55. The business's fifty day moving average is $98.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.89.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This is an increase from American Electric Power's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio is 74.55%.

About American Electric Power

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.