American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Sold by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 23.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,435 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $3,154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in American Water Works by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 28.2% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 247,298 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,222,000 after buying an additional 54,326 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 30.3% in the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works by 5.8% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 3,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new position in American Water Works during the 1st quarter valued at $108,688,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:AWK opened at $132.11 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.25. 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 Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $113.34 and a 12-month high of $150.68.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AWK. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Mizuho cut American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on American Water Works in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research raised American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction of $101,423.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,880 shares in the company, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate 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.