Ballentine Partners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 10.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,483 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,801 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC's holdings in American Water Works were worth $2,727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $18,344,000 after purchasing an additional 2,570 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works by 45.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in American Water Works by 21.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in American Water Works by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 40,625 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,993,000 after acquiring an additional 1,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 6,235 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $776,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of American Water Works from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Barclays cut their price target 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. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $141.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

In other news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total transaction of $404,766.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,572 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,084,916.16. The trade was a 27.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of AWK opened at $142.23 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $118.74 and a 52-week high of $155.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm's fifty day moving average is $141.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.30. The stock has a market cap of $27.74 billion, a PE ratio of 25.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.69.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.24% and a return on equity of 10.35%. The company's revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. Research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company 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 is a boost from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. American Water Works's payout ratio is presently 60.29%.

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.

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