Eastern Bank Lowers Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Eastern Bank cut its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 216,476 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,984 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $19,966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 79,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145 shares during the period. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $434,000. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 128,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,826,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 61.9% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 18,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,720,000 after purchasing an additional 7,131 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AEP shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI decreased 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 note on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank cut shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.00.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

AEP stock traded up $0.98 during trading on Monday, hitting $94.49. 3,842,092 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,378,057. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.22 and a 52 week high of $105.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $94.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.56.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. This is a positive change from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.