American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Shares Sold by Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd cut its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 18.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,842 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,000 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $4,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 8.9% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,954,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,081,000 after buying an additional 159,278 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 8.3% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 12,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,293,000 after buying an additional 962 shares in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,533,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 85.8% in the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 29,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,040,000 after buying an additional 13,687 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 274.7% in the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 31,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,239,000 after buying an additional 23,142 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on AEP. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Scotiabank upped 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 report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $97.93.

American Electric Power Stock Up 1.3 %

AEP stock opened at $99.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $52.86 billion, a PE ratio of 19.91, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.55. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $98.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.64. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $75.22 and a one year high of $105.18.

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 given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. American Electric Power’s payout ratio 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.