Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. Sells 88 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 88 shares during the period. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $421,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AWK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in American Water Works by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,045,002 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $137,930,000 after purchasing an additional 24,661 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 178,599 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,573,000 after buying an additional 2,189 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 71.1% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 22,558 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,977,000 after buying an additional 9,376 shares during the period. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. boosted its stake in American Water Works by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. now owns 2,282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth $292,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other American Water Works news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 843 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.59, for a total transaction of $100,814.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,942,141.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE AWK traded up $1.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $132.96. 1,417,903 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,497,085. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.34 and a 12 month high of $151.24. The company has a market capitalization of $25.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.63.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $962.30 million. American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 22.27%. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. This is a positive change from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. American Water Works’s payout ratio is presently 57.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AWK. Evercore ISI downgraded American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and cut their price target for the company from $160.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com lowered American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd.

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.