United Asset Strategies Inc. Has $264,000 Stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

United Asset Strategies Inc. reduced its stake in shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,866 shares of the company’s stock after selling 136 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. XML Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Electric Power by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 2,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC increased its position in American Electric Power by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Garrison Asset Management LLC now owns 19,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY raised its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Roanoke Asset Management Corp NY now owns 5,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First United Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of American Electric Power by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Scotiabank lowered American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.00.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AEP opened at $102.63 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $94.87 and its 200-day moving average is $97.32. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.22 and a 52-week high of $105.18. The company has a market cap of $54.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.56.

American Electric Power Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.55%.

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.