Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Sells 342 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 4.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,063 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 342 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,858 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Invesco LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 2,467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 5,415 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $699,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 4,590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $593,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total transaction of $101,423.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 36,880 shares in the company, valued at $5,268,308. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of AWK stock opened at $136.67 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $26.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.06, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $140.82 and a 200-day moving average of $137.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $113.34 and a 1-year high of $150.68.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 2.24%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 60.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AWK shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on American Water Works in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Mizuho cut American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.00.

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.