Argent Trust Co Has $505,000 Stock Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Argent Trust Co reduced its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 476 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its holdings in American Water Works by 945.5% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,806,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $238,397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,633,389 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 12,816.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,464,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $189,177,000 after buying an additional 1,453,334 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the first quarter valued at about $108,688,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 2.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,648,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,012,272,000 after acquiring an additional 624,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 70.3% in the first quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 958,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $117,115,000 after acquiring an additional 395,684 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on AWK shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.33.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK stock opened at $149.12 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $143.12 and a 200-day moving average of $131.51. The company has a market cap of $29.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.34 and a 52 week high of $150.68.

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

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is currently 62.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

In other news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 36,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,268,308. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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.