American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Stock Holdings Increased by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 140.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 385,499 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 225,063 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.07% of American Electric Power worth $35,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,667,000 after purchasing an additional 19,081 shares during the last quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the third quarter worth $3,404,000. ING Groep NV increased its position in American Electric Power by 244.3% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 294,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,217,000 after buying an additional 208,974 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in American Electric Power during the third quarter valued at about $1,815,000. Finally, Executive Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the third quarter worth about $1,788,000. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank lowered American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $107.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.00.

American Electric Power Stock Up 1.8 %

American Electric Power stock opened at $96.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.22 and a 1-year high of $105.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $94.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.77.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. This is an increase from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.