American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Sold by Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group

Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group lowered its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 20.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 149 shares during the period. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $73,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 71.9% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 100.0% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Wolfe Research raised American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.29.

Insider Transactions at American Water Works

In other American Water Works news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total value of $101,423.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,268,308. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of American Water Works stock opened at $144.93 on Friday. 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 $28.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.40, a PEG ratio of 3.55 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. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $143.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $132.67.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. Equities research 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 company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is currently 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.