Apollon Wealth Management LLC Trims Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 742 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AWK. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in American Water Works by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 538,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $71,127,000 after acquiring an additional 20,288 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 7,752.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 483,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,803,000 after purchasing an additional 477,235 shares during the period. Covea Finance increased its stake in American Water Works by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Covea Finance now owns 278,493 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,758,000 after purchasing an additional 47,200 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its position in American Water Works by 27.8% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 81,976 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,151,000 after buying an additional 17,834 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 12,606.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 463,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $612,320,000 after buying an additional 460,262 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.9 %

AWK opened at $132.96 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $25.90 billion, a PE ratio of 26.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.34 and a 1 year high of $151.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $120.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.63.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.03). American Water Works had a net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 9.74%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $962.30 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is a positive change from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is presently 57.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

In related news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 843 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.59, for a total transaction of $100,814.37. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,942,141.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered 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 cut their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Friday, February 16th.

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.