Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 11,761 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 9.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 133,254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,761 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.07% of American Water Works worth $19,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 8,438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,051,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Glenview Trust co raised its position in American Water Works by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 4,986 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 54.2% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,112 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

In other American Water Works news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of American Water Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total transaction of $404,766.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,084,916.16. This trade represents a 27.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK opened at $141.26 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $143.47 and a 200-day moving average of $135.83. The company has a market cap of $27.55 billion, a PE ratio of 26.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.71. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $118.74 and a one year high of $155.50.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.8275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. This is an increase from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 60.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.