Buck Wealth Strategies LLC Grows Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Buck Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 10.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,119 shares during the period. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $5,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Norges Bank bought a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $294,524,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in American Water Works by 120.7% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,174,395 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $395,180,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736,258 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in American Water Works by 38.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,695,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $335,592,000 after acquiring an additional 747,316 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in American Water Works by 20,534.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 615,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $90,770,000 after acquiring an additional 612,324 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $71,120,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of American Water Works stock opened at $141.14 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $143.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.01. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $118.74 and a one year high of $155.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $27.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.71.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.01). American Water Works had a net margin of 22.24% and a return on equity of 10.35%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. American Water Works’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.8275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. This is a positive change from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 60.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group downgraded American Water Works from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays assumed coverage on American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an “underweight” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Water Works has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.22.

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 on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total transaction 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 $1,084,916.16. The trade was a 27.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Water Works 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.