Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. Buys 781 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 781 shares during the quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,132,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.9% in the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 1.6% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 5,415 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $699,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 2.0% in the second quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 4,590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $593,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 0.5% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 21,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,581,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 480 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total transaction of $101,423.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 36,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,268,308. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE:AWK opened at $138.87 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $143.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.37. The stock has a market cap of $27.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.69. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $150.68.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.05). American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 21.93%. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. American Water Works’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were paid a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 62.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on AWK. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.00.

About American Water Works

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.