American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Bought by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 11.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,920 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AWK. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Invesco LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 3.4% during the third quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 2,467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 1.6% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 5,415 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $699,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 2.0% during the second quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 4,590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $593,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

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 shares were sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total value of $101,423.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 36,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,268,308. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK stock opened at $134.23 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.34 and a 12 month high of $150.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $141.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.30.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 60.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AWK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on American Water Works in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research raised American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Mizuho lowered American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.00.

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.