Wedbush Securities Inc. Trims Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Wedbush Securities Inc. trimmed its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 0.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,675 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 70 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,379,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 100.0% in the first 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. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the company’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 approximately $5,268,308. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.17.

American Water Works Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE AWK opened at $148.20 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.34 and a 52 week high of $149.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.87 billion, a PE ratio of 30.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $140.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.21.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 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.