RWC Asset Management LLP Grows Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

RWC Asset Management LLP grew its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,197 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. RWC Asset Management LLP’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $3,127,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 4,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $690,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Sargent Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 2,795 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 6,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $908,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 1.1% during 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 in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on AWK. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 target price (up previously from $154.00) on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, July 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays reduced their target price 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, July 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.67.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK stock opened at $140.29 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $118.74 and a 12 month high of $155.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $141.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.57.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 10.35% and a net margin of 22.24%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were paid a $0.8275 dividend. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. 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. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is 60.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total value of $404,766.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,916.16. This represents a 27.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.