Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC Has $1.47 Million Stock Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC reduced its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. American Water Works accounts for 0.8% of Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $275,476,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 43.3% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,320,042 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $174,232,000 after purchasing an additional 86,234 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in American Water Works by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 352,583 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,537,000 after purchasing an additional 15,933 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in American Water Works by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 94,996 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,539,000 after purchasing an additional 9,005 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total transaction of $101,423.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 36,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,268,308. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.60.

American Water Works Stock Down 0.6 %

AWK stock opened at $148.97 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.02 billion, a PE ratio of 30.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $150.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $142.86 and its 200-day moving average is $131.38.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.93% and a return on equity of 9.60%. American Water Works’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.07%.

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.