California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 28,224 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,408,986 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28,224 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $222,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AEP. Allstate Corp acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,468,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 12,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,065,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 46,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after acquiring an additional 2,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 735,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,804,000 after purchasing an additional 127,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AEP. Guggenheim upgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank downgraded American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.77.

American Electric Power Price Performance

AEP stock opened at $106.96 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company’s 50-day moving average is $102.78 and its 200-day moving average is $99.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $79.16 and a 1 year high of $109.52.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.24. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is 66.43%.

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.