Aristotle Capital Management LLC Sells 154,658 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Aristotle Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,712,866 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 154,658 shares during the period. Aristotle Capital Management LLC owned approximately 3.44% of American Water Works worth $835,685,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Providence First Trust Co acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew 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 worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Barclays began coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Four 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.22.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of American Water Works stock traded up $1.10 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $148.21. 841,799 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,204,508. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $143.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.76. The stock has a market cap of $28.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.50, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73. 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 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.39.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.8275 per share. 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 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is 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.