Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Trims Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,013 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 529 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $11,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PGGM Investments raised its position in American Water Works by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 89,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,198,000 after acquiring an additional 15,363 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. grew its holdings in American Water Works by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. now owns 12,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,505,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its holdings in American Water Works by 140.9% in the fourth quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 91,376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,353,000 after purchasing an additional 53,439 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in American Water Works by 48.3% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 93,186 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,601,000 after purchasing an additional 30,363 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Water Works by 54.2% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE AWK opened at $144.67 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $130.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.39. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.34 and a fifty-two week high of $152.07.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com raised American Water Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group raised American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Water Works has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.86.

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.