Amundi Sells 743,009 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Key Points

• Amundi has reduced its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. by 16.5%, now owning 3,747,414 shares, valued at approximately $564 million.
• Price T Rowe Associates dramatically increased its investment in the company by 881.1%, purchasing an additional 3.3 million shares in the first quarter of the year.
• American Water Works recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.8275 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.3% and a payout ratio of 59.64%.

Amundi lowered its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 16.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,747,414 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 743,009 shares during the period. Amundi owned approximately 1.92% of American Water Works worth $564,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PFG Advisors lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 33.4% in the 1st quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 9,699 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,431,000 after purchasing an additional 2,429 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in American Water Works by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 124,352 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $18,344,000 after acquiring an additional 2,570 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in 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 raised its stake in 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. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in 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. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AWK shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of American Water Works from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $141.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $143.30.

American Water Works Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of AWK traded up $1.90 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $143.47. 782,169 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,111,201. The firm has a market cap of $27.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.85, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.69. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $118.74 and a 12-month high of $155.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $142.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.37.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.22 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. American Water Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.700-5.750 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were issued a $0.8275 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. American Water Works's payout ratio is currently 59.64%.

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.