Manchester Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 10.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,786 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $154,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AEP. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 8.6% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 7,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $594,000 after buying an additional 623 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its stake in American Electric Power by 20.6% in the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 6,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated bought a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter worth $162,000. Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Electric Power during the third quarter valued at $14,948,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 6.1% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 120,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,027,000 after purchasing an additional 6,910 shares during the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AEP. Barclays lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $98.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Electric Power

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

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $91.27. The stock had a trading volume of 499,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,293,740. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.38 and a 1 year high of $93.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $89.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.53. The company has a market capitalization of $48.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 14.60% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 65.31%.

American Electric Power 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.