Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 17,890 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Prudential Financial Inc. trimmed its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 14.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 17,890 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $14,036,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AWK. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Providence First Trust Co purchased a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 54.2% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of American Water Works stock opened at $143.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.35. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $113.34 and a one year high of $152.07. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $134.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.69.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. Analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AWK has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.86.

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.