Bank of Montreal Can Increases Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 390,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,663 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $56,566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 21.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,023,000 after purchasing an additional 5,564 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 350.4% in the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 10,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,338,000 after purchasing an additional 8,060 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 65.5% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 106,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,557,000 after buying an additional 42,094 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,610,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 201.8% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 57,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,990,000 after buying an additional 38,246 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Water Works

In other news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were 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 $5,268,308. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AWK. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Water Works currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $142.29.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK stock opened at $138.31 on Thursday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $113.34 and a one year 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $139.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.70.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is currently 60.59%.

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.