American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Sold by First Merchants Corp

First Merchants Corp reduced its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 7.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,795 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,181 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $2,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Providence First Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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, Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

In related 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 value of $404,766.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,916.16. This trade represents a 27.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

American Water Works Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE AWK opened at $138.43 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $118.74 and a 1 year high of $155.50. The company has a market capitalization of $26.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. American Water Works’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict 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. This is a positive change from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 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.