American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Sold by LGT Group Foundation

LGT Group Foundation cut its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 243 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $980,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AWK. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 96,987 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,010,000 after buying an additional 669 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in American Water Works by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 36,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,561,000 after purchasing an additional 4,909 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in American Water Works by 39.7% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 43,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,422,000 after purchasing an additional 12,433 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 25,058 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,103,000 after buying an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 174.2% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 518,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,218,000 after buying an additional 329,469 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK opened at $128.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $25.08 billion, a PE ratio of 26.12, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.62. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.34 and a 52 week high of $151.24. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $119.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.29.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. This is a boost from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is presently 57.40%.

Insider Transactions at American Water Works

In other news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 843 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.59, for a total value of $100,814.37. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,240 shares in the company, valued at $1,942,141.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on AWK shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Friday, February 16th.

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.