Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $668.57 Million Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 24.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,532,131 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 878,951 shares during the quarter. American Water Works makes up about 0.7% of Pictet Asset Management Holding SA's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 2.32% of American Water Works worth $668,566,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in American Water Works by 2.1% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 124,352 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $18,344,000 after purchasing an additional 2,570 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 10,547 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,556,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 45.2% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,326 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,692 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 40,625 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,993,000 after acquiring an additional 1,588 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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 downgraded American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $156.00 target price (up from $154.00) on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $141.67.

American Water Works Stock Performance

AWK traded up $0.67 during trading on Friday, hitting $142.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,934,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,243,832. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $141.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.80. The firm has a market cap of $27.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.69. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $118.74 and a one year high of $155.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

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

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were issued a $0.8275 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. This is a boost from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. American Water Works's payout ratio is currently 60.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Water Works news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of American Water Works stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total value of $404,766.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,572 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,084,916.16. The trade was a 27.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.