Royal Fund Management LLC Invests $1.07 Million in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Royal Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 12,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,070,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,630,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,273,181,000 after purchasing an additional 405,114 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,586,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $739,303,000 after acquiring an additional 776,965 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of American Electric Power by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,983,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,311,000 after acquiring an additional 147,826 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in American Electric Power by 67.7% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,586,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043,885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 542.4% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,282,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,927,234 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AEP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $101.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com raised American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Bank of America cut American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $96.00 to $97.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on American Electric Power from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.38.

American Electric Power Stock Up 0.4 %

AEP traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $96.94. 2,978,604 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,292,669. The stock has a market cap of $51.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.53. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $69.38 and a 1-year high of $104.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $92.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.02. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total transaction of $518,910.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $563,476.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other American Electric Power news, EVP Antonio P. Smyth sold 4,898 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $440,820.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,446 shares in the company, valued at $580,140. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Greg B. Hall sold 5,880 shares of American Electric Power stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total transaction of $518,910.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $563,476.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.