Vontobel Holding Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 7.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 456,662 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 37,939 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned approximately 0.23% of American Water Works worth $67,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth about $11,136,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,450 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $927,000 after acquiring an additional 682 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $447,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 334.6% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,055 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 3,122 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of AWK traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $139.91. 683,750 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,233,173. 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 50-day moving average price of $142.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $27.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.69.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 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 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This is a boost 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 payout ratio is presently 60.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays assumed coverage on American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group downgraded American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $143.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

In related news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of American Water Works stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 27.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

American Water Works 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.