Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Purchases Shares of 351 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) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 351 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $51,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 4.2% during the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,858 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 2.9% in the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Invesco LLC increased its position in American Water Works by 3.4% in the third quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 2,467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in American Water Works by 1.6% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 5,415 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $699,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its position in American Water Works by 2.0% during the second quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 4,590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AWK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Mizuho downgraded American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price objective for the company. Four equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.00.

American Water Works Stock Performance

AWK stock opened at $132.44 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $25.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.23, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.70. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $150.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.29.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

In other news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 36,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,268,308. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.