Ascent Group LLC Lowers 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% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,687 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 591 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,709,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AWK. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 941.8% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 297,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,475,000 after purchasing an additional 268,712 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $9,750,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 25.8% in the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 249,569 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,496,000 after buying an additional 51,196 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in American Water Works by 3.0% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 34,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,976,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Trust Co purchased a new position in American Water Works in the third quarter worth $216,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AWK. Wolfe Research raised shares of American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Mizuho downgraded shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $142.29.

American Water Works Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $135.60 on Tuesday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $113.34 and a 12-month high of $150.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $138.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market cap of $26.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.85, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.70.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

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

American Water Works 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.