Ascent Group LLC Trims Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Ascent Group LLC lowered its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,687 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 591 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 3.7% during the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 6,902,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $890,422,000 after purchasing an additional 247,745 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,245,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $328,354,000 after purchasing an additional 143,914 shares during the period. Mirova US LLC lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 1,588,109 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $205,120,000 after purchasing an additional 32,764 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 12,816.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,464,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $189,177,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 1,131.1% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,438,137 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $210,313,000 after buying an additional 1,321,320 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AWK shares. Mizuho lowered American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Wolfe Research upgraded American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $142.29.

American Water Works Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE AWK opened at $135.60 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.53. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.34 and a 12 month high of $150.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $138.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.90.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.59%.

About American Water Works

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.