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

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lessened its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 16.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 16,981 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $10,945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Providence First Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Water Works by 54.2% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AWK shares. StockNews.com cut shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.86.

American Water Works Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE AWK opened at $146.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $28.52 billion, a PE ratio of 27.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $133.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.49. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.34 and a 52-week high of $152.07.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.09. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

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.