Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 9.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 133,254 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,761 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.07% of American Water Works worth $19,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AWK. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter worth about $294,524,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in American Water Works by 120.7% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,174,395 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $395,180,000 after buying an additional 1,736,258 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in American Water Works by 38.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,695,734 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $335,592,000 after purchasing an additional 747,316 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in American Water Works by 20,534.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 615,306 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $90,770,000 after purchasing an additional 612,324 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $71,120,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AWK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.22.

Insider Transactions at American Water Works

In related news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of AWK traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $141.26. The stock had a trading volume of 741,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,218,602. 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 52-week low of $118.74 and a 52-week high of $155.50. The business's fifty day moving average is $143.47 and its 200 day moving average is $135.81. The firm has a market cap of $27.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.71.

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

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. 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 Company 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.