Vestcor Inc Cuts Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Vestcor Inc trimmed its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 29.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,162 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,945 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in American Water Works were worth $892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in American Water Works by 120.7% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,174,395 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $395,180,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736,258 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 4,227.0% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 711,927 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 695,474 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $71,120,000. Amundi grew its holdings in American Water Works by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,490,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $553,687,000 after buying an additional 477,411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its position in American Water Works by 268.0% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 537,138 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $66,868,000 after buying an additional 391,166 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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American Water Works Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of AWK stock traded down $2.57 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $142.18. 1,548,381 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,137,345. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.34 and a 1 year high of $152.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $130.16 and a 200 day moving average of $134.49. The firm has a market cap of $27.72 billion, a PE ratio of 26.38, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.09. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. Analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AWK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Water Works from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $141.86.

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.