American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Stake Lowered by RFG Advisory LLC

RFG Advisory LLC cut its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 51.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,305 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,694 shares during the quarter. RFG Advisory LLC's holdings in American Water Works were worth $930,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AWK. Providence First Trust Co bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 54.2% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group downgraded American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on 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. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $143.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

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 directly owns 7,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,916.16. This 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 link. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Stock Performance

AWK opened at $139.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.35. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.74 and a 1-year high of $155.50. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $144.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.71.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. This is a boost from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.29%.

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.

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