New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 7,396 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 163,567 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 7,396 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.08% of American Water Works worth $20,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 155.6% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in American Water Works by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works during the third quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AWK traded up $0.80 on Thursday, hitting $128.66. The stock had a trading volume of 1,831,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,249,476. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $150.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.58. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $124.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.87. The company has a market capitalization of $25.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.72.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.09. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.77% and a return on equity of 9.75%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.29 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend payout ratio is 60.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About American Water Works

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.