Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Has $308,000 Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 14.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 426 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 2nd quarter valued at $875,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in American Water Works by 4.8% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,812 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,784,000 after buying an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works by 1.5% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 43,211 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,581,000 after buying an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 49.9% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 33,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,266,000 after buying an additional 10,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 378,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $49,208,000 after acquiring an additional 16,477 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK stock opened at $121.86 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.34 and a 1 year high of $150.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $128.94 and its 200-day moving average is $136.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.13, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.71.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 60.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AWK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of American Water Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $133.00 to $129.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of American Water Works in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho cut shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.00.

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.