Bellecapital International Ltd. Sells 1,266 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Bellecapital International Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,403 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,266 shares during the period. Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,648,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,012,272,000 after purchasing an additional 624,977 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 153.8% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 13,640 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,667,000 after buying an additional 8,266 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 202.2% during the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 46,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,699,000 after buying an additional 31,203 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 21.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,023,000 after acquiring an additional 5,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howland Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 163,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,943,000 after acquiring an additional 27,200 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE AWK traded down $1.12 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $140.84. The stock had a trading volume of 122,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,201,165. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $150.68. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $143.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.10. The firm has a market cap of $27.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.69.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released 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 firm 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 firm earned $1.44 EPS. American Water Works’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Water Works news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total transaction of $101,423.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,268,308. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AWK. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded 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 research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, September 20th. Mizuho lowered shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average 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.