Czech National Bank Boosts Stock Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Czech National Bank raised its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,753 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,496 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in American Water Works were worth $6,602,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $277,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in American Water Works by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 65,249 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,123,000 after purchasing an additional 2,113 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 50,901 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,337,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth about $1,715,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $373,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.7%

AWK stock traded up $1.00 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $139.84. 793,510 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,220,534. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $144.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.69. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.74 and a 52 week high of $155.50. The company has a market cap of $27.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.71.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.01). American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. American Water Works's revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This is a positive change 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 2.37%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays started coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group cut American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $143.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,572 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,084,916.16. This trade represents a 27.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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.