Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Sells 7,791 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 68.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,791 shares during the period. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AWK. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 35,523 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,195,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 847 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Water Works by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in American Water Works by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,649 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $680,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its stake in American Water Works by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 83,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,278,000 after acquiring an additional 4,092 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE:AWK opened at $132.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $25.85 billion, a PE ratio of 24.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.72. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.34 and a fifty-two week high of $150.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.58. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $124.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.83.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 22.44%. Equities research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AWK. UBS Group upgraded American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on American Water Works from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.57.

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.