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

Natixis Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 5.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 420,952 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,356 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.08% of American Electric Power worth $43,190,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 10,177.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,982,444 shares of the company's stock worth $203,399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,963,154 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in American Electric Power by 221.9% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,715,346 shares of the company's stock valued at $157,140,000 after acquiring an additional 1,182,451 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP lifted its position in American Electric Power by 578.2% in the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 975,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,948,000 after acquiring an additional 831,235 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in American Electric Power by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,586,577 shares of the company's stock valued at $739,303,000 after acquiring an additional 776,965 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in American Electric Power by 51.1% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,844,968 shares of the company's stock valued at $161,877,000 after acquiring an additional 623,789 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on AEP. Scotiabank upped their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.27.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ AEP traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $96.49. The company had a trading volume of 3,399,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,163,559. The stock has a market cap of $51.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.22 and a 52-week high of $105.18.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. 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 3.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.55%.

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.