DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Sells 71,813 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main decreased its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 523,324 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 71,813 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main owned 0.27% of American Water Works worth $65,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Providence First Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works by 54.2% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Stock Performance

American Water Works stock traded down $8.51 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $138.43. 2,412,316 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,200,177. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $118.74 and a twelve month high of $155.50. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $144.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $134.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $27.00 billion, a PE ratio of 25.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73.

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 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 analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 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 2.39%. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AWK. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays initiated coverage on American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $143.22.

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.