Essex Financial Services Inc. Reduces Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Essex Financial Services Inc. cut its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 124 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First National Corp MA ADV lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 9,056 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,127,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its position in American Water Works by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 9,342 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,163,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Quilter Plc lifted its stake in American Water Works by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 202,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,257,000 after buying an additional 5,771 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in American Water Works by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 2,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 13,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,742,000 after acquiring an additional 1,063 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on AWK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group raised 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised American Water Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $133.00 to $129.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Water Works has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $139.38.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE AWK opened at $125.06 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.72. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.34 and a 52-week high of $150.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $125.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.55.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.59%.

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.