The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $71.87 Million Stock Holdings in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 779,294 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $71,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AEP. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,249,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,764,000 after acquiring an additional 213,153 shares in the last quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank acquired a new stake in American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter valued at $914,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Electric Power in the third quarter worth $3,191,000. Chelsea Counsel Co. grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 46.1% during the third quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 1,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new position in American Electric Power during the third quarter valued at $1,331,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

American Electric Power stock opened at $108.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $57.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.43. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.70 and a 52 week high of $110.48. The business’s fifty day moving average is $105.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.88.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is presently 66.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $114.00 price target on shares of American Electric Power and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Guggenheim raised American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on American Electric Power from $95.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.69.

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.