American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Purchased by KKM Financial LLC

KKM Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 987 shares during the quarter. KKM Financial LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,831,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,107,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,125,598,000 after acquiring an additional 217,582 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in American Water Works by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,671,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $579,981,000 after purchasing an additional 106,857 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in American Water Works by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,490,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $553,687,000 after purchasing an additional 477,411 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in American Water Works by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,357,726 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $418,003,000 after purchasing an additional 335,683 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in American Water Works by 120.7% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,174,395 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $395,180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,258 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays began coverage on American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an “underweight” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group lowered American Water Works from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.22.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK opened at $146.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $144.76 and its 200-day moving average is $134.98. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $118.74 and a 12-month high of $155.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.01). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. This is an increase from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.29%.

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.