Confluence Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Confluence Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 145,972 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 407 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned about 0.07% of American Water Works worth $21,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norden Group LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works by 67.4% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 2,932 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 61.9% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 3.6% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 6,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $825,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 78.9% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 10,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,337,000 after acquiring an additional 4,825 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on AWK. Mizuho lowered shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wolfe Research raised shares of American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of American Water Works in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 36,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,268,308. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE AWK opened at $132.84 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $142.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.79. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.34 and a 52-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 company has a market cap of $25.89 billion, a PE ratio of 26.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.70.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is 60.59%.

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.