American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Sold by Independent Advisor Alliance

Independent Advisor Alliance cut its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 356 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AWK. MV Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in American Water Works by 110.8% during the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 79.2% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Key Financial Inc grew its holdings in American Water Works by 266.7% during the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new position in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 843 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.59, for a total value of $100,814.37. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,942,141.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of American Water Works from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Evercore ISI lowered American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.33.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of American Water Works stock opened at $134.37 on Wednesday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $151.22. The stock has a market cap of $26.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $122.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.66.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $962.30 million. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 9.74%. American Water Works’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. This is an increase from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is currently 62.07%.

American Water Works Company Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides water and wastewater services in the United States. It offers water and wastewater services to approximately 1,700 communities in 14 states serving approximately 3.5 million active customers. The company serves residential customers; commercial customers, including food and beverage providers, commercial property developers and proprietors, and energy suppliers; fire service and private fire customers; industrial customers, such as large-scale manufacturers, mining, and production operations; public authorities comprising government buildings and other public sector facilities, such as schools and universities; and other utilities and community water and wastewater systems.