American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Purchased by Blair William & Co. IL

Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,516 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 897 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,487,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its position in American Water Works by 100.0% in the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 71.9% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.2 %

AWK opened at $147.52 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $143.50 and its 200-day moving average is $132.06. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.34 and a 52-week high of $150.68. 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 has a market capitalization of $28.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.69.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

In related 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 sale, the director now directly owns 36,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,268,308. 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 insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AWK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.29.

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.