Sargent Investment Group LLC Acquires Shares of 2,704 American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Sargent Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,704 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $349,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its position in American Water Works by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works by 71.9% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

In other news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of American Water Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total transaction of $101,423.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 36,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,268,308. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

American Water Works Price Performance

AWK opened at $149.88 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.26. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $113.34 and a one year high of $150.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.69.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.15 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 62.07%.

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.