American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Sold by Ameritas Advisory Services LLC

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lowered its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 14.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 426 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $308,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AWK. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Water Works by 155.6% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in American Water Works by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 31.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 446.2% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Water Works Price Performance

NYSE AWK opened at $121.86 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.34 and a 1 year high of $150.68. The business’s fifty day moving average is $128.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.58.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is 60.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AWK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American Water Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $133.00 to $129.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on 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. Finally, Mizuho lowered shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.00.

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.