American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Sold by Banque Cantonale Vaudoise

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise cut its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,795 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,570 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in American Water Works by 4.2% during the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,858 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,790 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Invesco LLC boosted its position in American Water Works by 3.4% during the third quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 2,467 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works by 1.6% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 5,415 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 4,590 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $593,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on AWK. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of American Water Works from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on American Water Works in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $124.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group upgraded American Water Works from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho downgraded American Water Works from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $142.29.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE:AWK opened at $137.89 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $140.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.63. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $113.34 and a 12-month high of $150.68.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 36,880 shares in the company, valued at $5,268,308. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

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.