Centaurus Financial Inc. Purchases 180 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP – Get Rating) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,815 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,105,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,792,380,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327,884 shares in the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 64.0% in the 2nd quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 2,859,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,634,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116,136 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 98.6% in the 3rd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,049,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $177,197,000 after acquiring an additional 1,017,612 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,540,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,109,904,000 after acquiring an additional 712,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 29.9% in the 3rd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 3,066,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,269,000 after acquiring an additional 706,762 shares in the last quarter. 74.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Electric Power

In related news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 1,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.39, for a total transaction of $90,751.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,059,099.63. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 1,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.39, for a total transaction of $90,751.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,059,099.63. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicholas K. Akins sold 6,977 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.39, for a total value of $630,651.03. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 143,547 shares in the company, valued at $12,975,213.33. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 63,897 shares of company stock worth $5,723,900 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $90.70 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $91.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.65. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $80.30 and a 52-week high of $105.60. The company has a market capitalization of $46.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.44.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 23rd. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.06. American Electric Power had a net margin of 11.77% and a return on equity of 10.75%. The business had revenue of $4.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.26 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 9th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 73.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut American Electric Power from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $108.00 to $99.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Mizuho lowered their price target on American Electric Power from $104.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 16th. Credit Suisse Group boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $87.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 16th. Finally, Cfra boosted their price target on American Electric Power from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.83.

American Electric Power Profile

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American Electric Power Co, Inc engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. It operates through the following segments: Vertically Integrated Utilities, Transmission and Distribution Utilities, AEP Transmission Holdco, and Generation and Marketing. The Vertically Integrated Utilities segment covers the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale to retail and wholesale customers.