Robeco Schweiz AG Sells 331,622 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Robeco Schweiz AG lessened its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 47.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 364,182 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 331,622 shares during the quarter. American Water Works makes up 1.3% of Robeco Schweiz AG's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Robeco Schweiz AG owned 0.19% of American Water Works worth $53,724,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in American Water Works by 0.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,671,050 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $579,981,000 after purchasing an additional 106,857 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in 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 worth $418,003,000 after purchasing an additional 335,683 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in American Water Works by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,142,465 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $391,205,000 after purchasing an additional 414,568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in American Water Works by 38.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,695,734 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $335,592,000 after purchasing an additional 747,316 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Evercore ISI increased 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. UBS Group increased their target price on American Water Works from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.67.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of American Water Works stock traded down $0.45 during trading on Friday, hitting $142.23. 948,450 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,238,511. 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 Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $118.74 and a 1 year high of $155.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.91, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.10.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 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 business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. 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 year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. 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 dividend yield of 2.33%. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.29%.

Insider Activity at American Water Works

In other American Water Works news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total value of $404,766.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company 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.