Barclays PLC Sells 444,687 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Barclays PLC lessened its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,804,516 shares of the company’s stock after selling 444,687 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.34% of American Electric Power worth $166,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,690,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,767,425,000 after acquiring an additional 763,813 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 15,060,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,389,032,000 after purchasing an additional 543,054 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,808,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,178,174,000 after purchasing an additional 283,311 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in American Electric Power by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,603,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $793,510,000 after buying an additional 716,229 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,644,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $427,009,000 after buying an additional 100,578 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP stock opened at $106.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $104.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.32. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $79.16 and a 52 week high of $110.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 66.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AEP. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.77.

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.