FineMark National Bank & Trust Sells 740 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

FineMark National Bank & Trust decreased its position in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,873 shares of the company’s stock after selling 740 shares during the quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $1,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 57,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,310,000 after purchasing an additional 3,288 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 23,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 4,370 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust boosted 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 valued at $654,000 after buying an additional 5,771 shares during the period. J2 Capital Management Inc bought a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the fourth quarter valued at about $419,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 3.1% in the third 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $102.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Scotiabank cut shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.92.

American Electric Power Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP opened at $102.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $102.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.05. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.16 and a 52-week high of $109.52.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter last year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.