Mizuho Securities USA LLC Lowers Position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lowered its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 15.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 34,505 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,141 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $3,540,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AEP. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 120,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,572,000 after purchasing an additional 15,138 shares during the last quarter. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Electric Power by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC now owns 42,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,730,000 after acquiring an additional 4,971 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in American Electric Power by 1,140.5% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 456,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,070,000 after acquiring an additional 419,870 shares in the last quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in American Electric Power in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,404,000. Finally, ING Groep NV increased its stake in American Electric Power by 244.3% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 294,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,217,000 after purchasing an additional 208,974 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $107.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on American Electric Power from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Electric Power presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.00.

American Electric Power Stock Down 0.5 %

American Electric Power stock opened at $97.59 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.46. The company has a market capitalization of $51.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 2.79 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. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.22 and a fifty-two week high of $105.18.

American Electric Power Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. This is an increase from American Electric Power’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.55%.

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.