Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Sells 1,964 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 42.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,620 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 1,964 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in American Water Works were worth $326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,382 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 170.3% during the 4th quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 5,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 3,529 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in American Water Works by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 564,074 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $70,185,000 after acquiring an additional 77,552 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 17,619 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,193,000 after buying an additional 1,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirova raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 39.8% in the fourth quarter. Mirova now owns 77,140 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,603,000 after acquiring an additional 21,967 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays started coverage on 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. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group downgraded American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $143.22.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE:AWK traded up $1.14 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $149.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,124,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,204,187. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $118.74 and a 12 month high of $155.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $143.95 and a 200-day moving average of $134.76. The firm has a market cap of $29.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.01). American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. The company's revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a $0.8275 dividend. This is a positive change from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.29%.

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.