DAVENPORT & Co LLC Reduces Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. $AEP

DAVENPORT & Co LLC decreased its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 51,841 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,418 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $5,978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in American Electric Power by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,922,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,253,827,000 after acquiring an additional 406,445 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in American Electric Power by 5.9% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,802,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $809,557,000 after purchasing an additional 432,441 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in American Electric Power by 26.8% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,084,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $684,772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,285,279 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 105.6% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,379,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,243,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763,328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 8.0% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,223,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $587,683,000 after purchasing an additional 388,540 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Electric Power news, EVP Phillip R. Ulrich sold 4,106 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.08, for a total transaction of $542,320.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,582,097.04. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kelly J. Ferneau sold 1,351 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.46, for a total transaction of $177,602.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,025,798.60. This trade represents a 8.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP opened at $128.85 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.04 billion, a PE ratio of 19.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.45. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $97.46 and a 52-week high of $135.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $126.56 and a 200 day moving average of $119.75.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 16.37%.The business had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. American Electric Power has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.150-6.450 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on AEP. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $140.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $121.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $148.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Williams Trading set a $137.00 price target on American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $136.10.

American Electric Power Company Profile

American Electric Power (NASDAQ: AEP) is a major investor-owned electric utility headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The company is primarily engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, operating a diverse portfolio of power plants and an extensive high-voltage transmission network. AEP serves retail customers through its regulated utility subsidiaries and provides wholesale power and grid services across multiple regional markets in the United States.

Operations span the full utility value chain: AEP owns and operates generation assets that include fossil-fuel, natural gas, nuclear and hydropower facilities, and it has been adding renewable resources to its mix.