FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH Has $4.51 Million Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH cut its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 36,192 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,567 shares during the quarter. American Water Works comprises about 1.1% of FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $4,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Water Works by 155.6% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in American Water Works by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in American Water Works by 446.2% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE:AWK opened at $126.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $24.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.09, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.71. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.34 and a fifty-two week high of $150.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $129.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.97.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is 60.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AWK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho cut American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group raised American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised American Water Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $133.00 to $129.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.