Arrow Financial Corp Reduces Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Arrow Financial Corp lowered its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 30.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,841 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,054 shares during the period. Arrow Financial Corp's holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its position in American Water Works by 1.5% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 4,679 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $690,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Sargent Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 2.6% during the first quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 2,795 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in American Water Works by 4.8% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,607 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in American Water Works by 1.4% in the first quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 6,157 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $908,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC increased its stake in American Water Works by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 8,438 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,051,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AWK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $156.00 target price (up previously from $154.00) on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Four investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $141.67.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK stock traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $142.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 753,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,243,420. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $141.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.00. The company has a market capitalization of $27.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.00, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.69. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.74 and a fifty-two week high of $155.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.35% and a net margin of 22.24%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.8275 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. This is an increase from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. American Water Works's payout ratio is 60.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

In related news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of American Water Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total value of $404,766.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,572 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,084,916.16. The trade was a 27.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.