Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 246 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Hartford Investment Management Co. lowered its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 246 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AWK. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its stake in American Water Works by 100.0% in the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the first quarter worth about $41,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in American Water Works during the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in American Water Works by 260.2% during the 1st quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Wolfe Research upgraded American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on American Water Works in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho lowered American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Water Works Trading Down 1.6 %

American Water Works stock opened at $139.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $27.24 billion, a PE ratio of 28.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $143.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.45. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $113.34 and a one year high of $150.68.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.15 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 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.