New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 15,934 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 299,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 15,934 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $37,287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Prossimo Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 3,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC boosted its position in American Water Works by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 5,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $638,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its position in American Water Works by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 15,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,990,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in American Water Works by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 20,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in American Water Works by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 31,054 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,866,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.6 %

AWK opened at $128.66 on Friday. 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 current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50 day moving average of $124.91 and a 200-day moving average of $134.87.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.09. American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.75% and a net margin of 21.77%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.29 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 60.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AWK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Water Works from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group raised American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.57.

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.