Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV Purchases 198 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV lifted its holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,413 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 57,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,310,000 after purchasing an additional 3,288 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 23,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,206,000 after buying an additional 4,370 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in American Electric Power by 436.9% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 7,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $654,000 after buying an additional 5,771 shares in the last quarter. J2 Capital Management Inc bought a new position in American Electric Power in the 4th quarter valued at about $419,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 640,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,667,000 after buying an additional 19,081 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEP has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 target price (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.00.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

Shares of AEP stock opened at $100.35 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.40 billion, a PE ratio of 20.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $95.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.74. 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 quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.55%.

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.