Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC Sells 401 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 401 shares during the period. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Providence First Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 54.2% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of NYSE AWK opened at $133.72 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $144.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.94. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $118.74 and a 1 year high of $155.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This is a boost from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AWK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays started coverage on shares of American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.22.

American Water Works 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.