Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC Reduces Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC reduced its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. American Water Works comprises 1.2% of Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 57,039 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,529,000 after buying an additional 6,485 shares in the last quarter. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd now owns 151,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,029,000 after purchasing an additional 5,350 shares in the last quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 57,785 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,627,000 after purchasing an additional 17,251 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at $635,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AWK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered 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. UBS Group increased their target price on American Water Works from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Water Works has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.33.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AWK traded down $4.96 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $128.79. 464,732 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,452,649. The company’s 50 day moving average is $123.23 and its 200 day moving average is $125.72. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $113.34 and a one year high of $151.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.09 billion, a PE ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.62.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $962.30 million. American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 22.27%. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. This is a positive change from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is presently 62.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

In other news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 843 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.59, for a total value of $100,814.37. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,942,141.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.