American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Sold by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lowered its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 3.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,630 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned 0.06% of American Water Works worth $14,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AWK. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in American Water Works by 100.0% in the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works by 71.9% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Water Works news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 36,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,268,308. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Wolfe Research raised American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Water Works has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.29.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.2 %

American Water Works stock opened at $147.52 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $143.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $132.06. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $150.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.92, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 21.93%. American Water Works’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.