Citigroup Inc. Sells 42,219 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Citigroup Inc. lowered its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 30.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 96,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 42,219 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $14,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in American Water Works during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 155.6% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in American Water Works in the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in American Water Works by 31.7% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AWK. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on American Water Works in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group upgraded American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, September 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Mizuho lowered shares of 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $142.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Water Works news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the company’s 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 owns 36,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,268,308. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE:AWK opened at $138.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $150.68. The stock has a market cap of $26.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $139.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.80.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. 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.