Hartford Investment Management Co. Lowers Stock Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Hartford Investment Management Co. lessened its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 246 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 2.9% during the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 5,415 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in American Water Works by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 4,590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $593,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 2.0% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,649 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $680,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 0.5% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 21,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,581,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE AWK opened at $139.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.36, a PEG ratio of 3.28 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $143.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.93% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Wolfe Research upgraded American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, September 20th. Mizuho lowered American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,268,308. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.