Congress Wealth Management LLC DE Makes New Investment in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE purchased a new stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 7,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $675,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in American Electric Power by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,690,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,767,425,000 after acquiring an additional 763,813 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of American Electric Power by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,902,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,760,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,954 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,524,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,280,655,000 after purchasing an additional 352,588 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of American Electric Power by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,866,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $704,549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,644,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $427,009,000 after purchasing an additional 100,578 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim upgraded American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 target price (down from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.77.

American Electric Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AEP opened at $106.96 on Friday. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a one year low of $79.16 and a one year high of $109.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.44.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.