Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Cuts Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC cut its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 109,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 30,848 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $16,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AWK. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,648,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,012,272,000 after acquiring an additional 624,977 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 153.8% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 13,640 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,667,000 after acquiring an additional 8,266 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 202.2% during the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 46,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,699,000 after purchasing an additional 31,203 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works by 21.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,023,000 after purchasing an additional 5,564 shares during the period. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 945.5% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,806,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $238,397,000 after buying an additional 1,633,389 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Up 1.9 %

AWK stock traded up $2.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $138.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 689,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,219,427. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.34 and a 12 month high of $150.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $143.47 and its 200-day moving average is $134.16. The company has a market cap of $27.06 billion, a PE ratio of 28.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 21.93%. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on AWK. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on American Water Works in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. 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.