J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AWK. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 7,752.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 483,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,803,000 after buying an additional 477,235 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 12,606.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 463,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $612,320,000 after buying an additional 460,262 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 174.2% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 518,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,218,000 after buying an additional 329,469 shares during the last quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 7,062.8% in the third quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 318,316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,417,000 after buying an additional 313,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 1,173.5% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 336,650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,687,000 after buying an additional 310,214 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 843 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.59, for a total value of $100,814.37. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,942,141.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE:AWK opened at $121.36 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a market cap of $23.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.63. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.34 and a fifty-two week high of $152.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $119.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.20.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.04. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.30% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. American Water Works’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AWK shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Friday, February 16th.

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.