Arizona State Retirement System Cuts Stock Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Arizona State Retirement System decreased its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 0.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 237 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $8,314,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 54.2% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on AWK shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of American Water Works from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, 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. Four 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, American Water Works currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.67.

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 dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,916.16. The trade was a 27.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of AWK stock opened at $142.23 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $27.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.69. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $118.74 and a one year high of $155.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $141.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.38. 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 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 net margin of 22.24% and a return on equity of 10.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. American Water Works’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders 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 boost from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is 60.29%.

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.