D.A. Davidson & CO. Increases Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 6.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,054 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $2,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd boosted its stake in American Water Works by 51.8% in the third quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 46,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,824,000 after acquiring an additional 15,926 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 126,974 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,569,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 390,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,566,000 after purchasing an additional 11,663 shares in the last quarter. Boston Family Office LLC grew its stake in American Water Works by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Family Office LLC now owns 5,935 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $868,000 after buying an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,036,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of American Water Works stock opened at $136.98 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $26.70 billion, a PE ratio of 27.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $138.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.83. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.34 and a 1 year high of $150.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AWK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, September 20th. Mizuho cut shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $142.29.

Insider Transactions at American Water Works

In other American Water Works news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total value of $101,423.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,268,308. The trade was a 1.89 % 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. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Company 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.