American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Purchased by Perpetual Ltd

Perpetual Ltd raised its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 21.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 126,926 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 22,764 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd owned approximately 0.07% of American Water Works worth $18,724,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AWK. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 217,582 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,671,050 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $579,981,000 after buying an additional 106,857 shares during the period. Amundi grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,490,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $553,687,000 after buying an additional 477,411 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,357,726 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $418,003,000 after buying an additional 335,683 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 120.7% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,174,395 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $395,180,000 after buying an additional 1,736,258 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total value of $404,766.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,572 shares in the company, valued at $1,084,916.16. This represents a 27.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Stock Down 0.5%

AWK traded down $0.63 on Friday, reaching $137.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,564,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,224,730. The company has a market capitalization of $26.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.71. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.74 and a fifty-two week high of $155.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $142.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.24.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 net margin of 22.24% and a return on equity of 10.35%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were issued a $0.8275 dividend. This is an increase from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works's payout ratio is presently 60.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group cut shares of American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI upped 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 research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays began coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. Finally, 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 note on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Water Works has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.