Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Reduces Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lessened its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 16.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 123,807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 24,290 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $15,991,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 100.0% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 71.9% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of American Water Works stock opened at $148.13 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.86 billion, a PE ratio of 30.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.34 and a 12 month high of $149.00. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $141.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.83.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.93% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were paid a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.07%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total value of $101,423.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 36,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,268,308. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.60.

About American Water Works

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.