Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Buys 24,041 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,134,038 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,041 shares during the period. American Electric Power accounts for 1.2% of Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.21% of American Electric Power worth $123,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 15,060,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,389,032,000 after acquiring an additional 543,054 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 15,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,519,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 26.5% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 33,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,112,000 after buying an additional 7,066 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in American Electric Power by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 989,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,257,000 after acquiring an additional 48,079 shares during the period. Finally, American National Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of American Electric Power by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 1,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Electric Power

In other American Electric Power news, EVP David Matthew Feinberg sold 8,058 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.49, for a total transaction of $817,806.42. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,860,514.68. This trade represents a 30.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Quinton S. Lies sold 10,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.68, for a total value of $1,041,277.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,658 shares in the company, valued at $991,683.44. This trade represents a 51.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,314 shares of company stock valued at $3,508,293. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company’s stock.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AEP opened at $101.20 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market cap of $54.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.42. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.93 and a fifty-two week high of $110.48. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $104.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.15.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $5.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. American Electric Power had a net margin of 13.73% and a return on equity of 11.68%. The company’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AEP shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $107.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on American Electric Power in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of 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 lifted their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven 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 a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $108.31.

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.