American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Sold by Rathbones Group PLC

Rathbones Group PLC reduced its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 16.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 345 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $294,524,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in American Water Works by 120.7% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,174,395 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $395,180,000 after buying an additional 1,736,258 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth $71,120,000. Amundi increased its stake in American Water Works by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,490,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $553,687,000 after buying an additional 477,411 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,142,465 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $391,205,000 after purchasing an additional 414,568 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Water Works Stock Down 1.3 %

AWK stock opened at $139.00 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $137.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.20. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.34 and a 52-week high of $155.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AWK has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of 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 shares of American Water Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Water Works presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.86.

American Water Works Company 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.