439,711 Shares in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Bought by ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. has acquired 439,711 shares of American Water Works, valued at approximately $64.87 million, making it the company's 17th largest holding.
• Several institutional investors, including Pictet Asset Management and Bank of America, have significantly increased their stakes in American Water Works, with Pictet raising its stake by 24.1%.
• American Water Works recently reported quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $1.48, falling short of expectations, but showing a 11.1% year-over-year revenue growth.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 439,711 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $64,870,000. American Water Works makes up about 1.0% of ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. owned 0.23% of American Water Works at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,255,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,142,465 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $391,205,000 after acquiring an additional 414,568 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 27,025 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,364,000 after acquiring an additional 4,725 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter worth approximately $19,495,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 20,672 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,573,000 after acquiring an additional 3,390 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $156.00 target price (up previously from $154.00) on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, July 11th. 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays decreased their target price on American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Mizuho increased their target price on American Water Works from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $142.00.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.6%

AWK traded up $0.87 during trading on Friday, hitting $145.29. 1,986,715 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,576,475. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $141.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $139.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $118.74 and a 12-month high of $155.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.18, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.65.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.05). The business 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.42 earnings per share. Analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.64%.

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.