Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $17.78 Million Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 18.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 121,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 19,244 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in American Water Works were worth $17,779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,858 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Invesco LLC grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 2,467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 5,415 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $699,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.0% in the second 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, September 20th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $142.29.

Insider Activity at American Water Works

In other American Water Works news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of American Water Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were 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 $5,268,308. This trade represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:AWK opened at $137.89 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.53. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $113.34 and a one year high of $150.68. The company has a market cap of $26.87 billion, a PE ratio of 27.31, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $140.43 and a 200-day moving average of $137.63.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 60.59%.

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.