Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Sells 16,199 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 55.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 13,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 16,199 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,936,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AWK. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in American Water Works by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 464,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $56,778,000 after acquiring an additional 1,481 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 0.5% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 21,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,581,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 67.4% in the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 2,932 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works during the 1st quarter worth $223,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 37.0% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 432,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,795,000 after buying an additional 116,587 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AWK. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Mizuho downgraded shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.00.

American Water Works Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $136.00 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $142.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.41. 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 has a market capitalization of $26.51 billion, a PE ratio of 26.93, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.70. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.34 and a 52 week high of $150.68.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 9.84%. American Water Works’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. Analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued 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 2.25%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.59%.

Insider Transactions at American Water Works

In related 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.