American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Stock Holdings Increased by Smithfield Trust Co

Smithfield Trust Co grew its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,604 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased 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 buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in American Water Works during the second quarter valued at about $46,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the second quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total value of $101,423.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,880 shares in the company, valued at $5,268,308. This trade represents a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AWK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Water Works has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $142.29.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE AWK opened at $138.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market cap of $27.03 billion, a PE ratio of 27.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $140.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.64. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $113.34 and a one year high of $150.68.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. 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.