Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC Sells 6,914 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,626 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,914 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC's holdings in American Water Works were worth $5,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AWK. Barclays PLC grew its stake in American Water Works by 1.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 376,348 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $55,037,000 after purchasing an additional 3,560 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 3rd quarter valued at about $716,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 54,677 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,996,000 after buying an additional 2,269 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $221,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,034,221 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $145,170,000 after acquiring an additional 29,961 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AWK shares. UBS Group downgraded American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded American Water Works from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $142.00.

American Water Works Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:AWK opened at $146.03 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The company's fifty day moving average price is $142.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.65. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.74 and a 1-year high of $155.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.68.

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

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.

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