Soltis Investment Advisors LLC Has $3.95 Million Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP - Free Report) by 46.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,524 shares of the company's stock after selling 33,469 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in American Electric Power were worth $3,953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEP. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC now owns 42,517 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,730,000 after purchasing an additional 4,971 shares in the last quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at about $3,404,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in American Electric Power by 1,140.5% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 456,686 shares of the company's stock worth $40,070,000 after buying an additional 419,870 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 244.3% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 294,515 shares of the company's stock worth $30,217,000 after buying an additional 208,974 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 29.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 197,195 shares of the company's stock worth $17,302,000 after acquiring an additional 45,167 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AEP. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on American Electric Power in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $107.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $98.20.

American Electric Power Trading Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ:AEP traded down $1.47 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $93.63. The company had a trading volume of 2,925,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,107,661. The firm has a market cap of $49.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.55. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.22 and a fifty-two week high of $105.18. The business's fifty day moving average is $97.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.57.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This is a positive change from American Electric Power's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. American Electric Power's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.