American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Stake Lessened by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 23.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 167 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $79,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 26.8% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 4,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $630,000 after purchasing an additional 903 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in American Water Works by 5.0% during the first quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after buying an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services raised its stake in American Water Works by 17.6% during the first quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 15,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,251,000 after buying an additional 2,371 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in American Water Works during the 1st quarter worth approximately $110,000. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 44,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,602,000 after acquiring an additional 2,496 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Water Works

In other news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total value of $404,766.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,084,916.16. This represents a 27.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on AWK. Evercore ISI upped their price target on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an “underweight” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of American Water Works from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.22.

American Water Works Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $138.94 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $144.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.69. The company has a market cap of $27.09 billion, a PE ratio of 25.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.71. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.74 and a fifty-two week high of $155.50.

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

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th were issued a $0.8275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. This is an increase from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.29%.

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.