Boston Common Asset Management LLC Lowers Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 192,750 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 28,737 shares during the quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC owned 0.10% of American Water Works worth $28,188,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 71.9% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 239 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 254 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut American Water Works from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research raised American Water Works to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on American Water Works in a report on Monday. They set an "underperform" rating and a $124.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $140.00.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AWK traded up $2.64 during trading on Friday, reaching $138.86. The company had a trading volume of 689,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,219,427. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $150.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.06 billion, a PE ratio of 27.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $143.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.01. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.05). American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 21.93%. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of American Water Works stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total value of $101,423.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 36,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,268,308. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company 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.