Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Has $2.32 Million Stock Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Key Points

• Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. increased its stake in American Water Works by 30.3% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 3,660 shares, bringing their total to 15,750 shares valued at over $2.3 million.
• American Water Works has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.8275 per share, reflecting a yield of 2.36%, up from a previous quarterly dividend of $0.77.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings for American Water Works, with four analysts rating it as a sell, six as hold, and one as buy, while the average target price stands at $141.67.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 30.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,750 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 3,660 shares during the quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.'s holdings in American Water Works were worth $2,323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AWK. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 16.1% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,655 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 2,173 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 349,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $51,627,000 after buying an additional 94,987 shares during the period. RWC Asset Management LLP grew its stake in American Water Works by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 21,197 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,127,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in American Water Works by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 224,486 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,116,000 after acquiring an additional 31,390 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in American Water Works by 3.3% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 6,707 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $989,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,572 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,084,916.16. This trade represents a 27.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AWK has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $156.00 price target (up from $154.00) on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Four 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.67.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AWK traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $140.26. 828,216 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,385,483. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $141.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $138.83. The company has a market cap of $27.35 billion, a PE ratio of 25.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.69. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.74 and a 1-year high of $155.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.49.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.24% and a return on equity of 10.35%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a $0.8275 dividend. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.29%.

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.