Aquatic Capital Management LLC Sells 1,871 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,229 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 1,871 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC's holdings in American Water Works were worth $4,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,107,225 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,125,598,000 after acquiring an additional 217,582 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,671,050 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $579,981,000 after acquiring an additional 106,857 shares during the period. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,490,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $553,687,000 after acquiring an additional 477,411 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,142,465 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $391,205,000 after acquiring an additional 414,568 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on AWK. Barclays assumed coverage on American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised American Water Works from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group cut American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $142.00.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of American Water Works stock traded down $0.49 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $146.52. 1,255,470 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,214,734. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $143.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.68. 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 quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.8275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This is an increase from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. American Water Works's payout ratio is 56.77%.

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.