American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Sold by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management trimmed its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,369 shares of the company’s stock after selling 480 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AEP. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter worth about $50,000. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Electric Power Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP opened at $100.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.58. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.22 and a 1-year high of $105.18. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $95.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.68.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 74.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on AEP. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank cut shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America upgraded shares of American Electric Power from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $98.00 to $104.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.00.

American Electric Power Company 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.