American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Sold by Seven Eight Capital LP

Seven Eight Capital LP decreased its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 77.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,085 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 10,865 shares during the quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 71.9% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its position in American Water Works by 100.0% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total value of $101,423.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,880 shares in the company, valued at $5,268,308. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AWK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.29.

American Water Works Stock Down 1.2 %

American Water Works stock opened at $147.23 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.68 billion, a PE ratio of 29.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.69. 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 Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.34 and a fifty-two week high of $150.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $143.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.85.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.05). American Water Works had a net margin of 21.93% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.