Country Trust Bank Grows Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Country Trust Bank grew its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 206,965 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,685 shares during the quarter. Country Trust Bank owned about 0.11% of American Water Works worth $30,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AWK. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 480 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the third quarter valued at approximately $253,000. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 1.3% during the third quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 22,577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,302,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group boosted its position in American Water Works by 4.0% during the third quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 61,247 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,957,000 after acquiring an additional 2,346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Water Works by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on American Water Works in a research note on Monday. They set an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Wolfe Research raised shares of American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Water Works has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.25.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $137.39 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.87, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.69. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.34 and a 1 year high of $150.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.64.

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

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total value of $101,423.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 36,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,268,308. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.