Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Invests $51,000 in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 351 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $51,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AWK. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 66,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,703,000 after acquiring an additional 3,237 shares during the period. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in American Water Works during the third quarter valued at about $216,000. Arrow Financial Corp grew its stake in American Water Works by 55.1% in the third quarter. Arrow Financial Corp now owns 9,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after purchasing an additional 3,506 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in American Water Works by 5.6% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 26,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,829,000 after purchasing an additional 1,395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 31.7% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Water Works news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of American Water Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,268,308. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK opened at $132.44 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $141.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.29. The stock has a market cap of $25.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.70. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $113.34 and a one year high of $150.68.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.59%.

About American Water Works

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.