American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Sold by Valley Wealth Managers Inc.

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,845 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,204 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $4,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AEP. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in American Electric Power by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 9,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $786,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in American Electric Power by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 39,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,427,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 11.4% during the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 3,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the period. Finally, Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in American Electric Power in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,476,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. 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 for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America upped their price objective on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on American Electric Power from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.27.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP stock traded up $0.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $94.24. 307,900 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,138,623. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.57. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $99.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.08. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.22 and a 52-week high of $105.18. The company has a market cap of $50.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.79, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.55.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This is a positive change from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 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.