Moody National Bank Trust Division Sells 480 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Moody National Bank Trust Division decreased its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,477 shares of the company’s stock after selling 480 shares during the quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 3.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,667,000 after purchasing an additional 19,081 shares during the period. New England Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,404,000. ING Groep NV increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 244.3% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 294,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,217,000 after acquiring an additional 208,974 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,815,000. Finally, L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new position in American Electric Power during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,398,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.00.

American Electric Power Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of AEP opened at $94.54 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.31 billion, a PE ratio of 18.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s fifty day moving average is $94.64 and its 200 day moving average is $96.74. 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 Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.22 and a fifty-two week high of $105.18.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. This is a boost from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.