Wedbush Securities Inc. Sells 783 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Wedbush Securities Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,812 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 783 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in American Water Works by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,107,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,125,598,000 after purchasing an additional 217,582 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,671,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $579,981,000 after buying an additional 106,857 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,490,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $553,687,000 after buying an additional 477,411 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 120.7% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,174,395 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $395,180,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in American Water Works by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,418,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $300,739,000 after purchasing an additional 125,128 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Price Performance

NYSE:AWK opened at $147.36 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $135.56 and its 200 day moving average is $134.28. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.34 and a 12 month high of $155.50. The company has a market capitalization of $28.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.86.

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.