American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,206,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 42,860 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.62% of American Water Works worth $177,993,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 54.2% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of AWK traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $142.23. 948,450 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,238,511. The company has a market cap of $27.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.69. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.74 and a fifty-two week high of $155.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.49. The stock's 50-day moving average is $141.67 and its 200-day moving average is $137.10.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 during 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 firm's revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. This is a positive change from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,916.16. This trade represents a 27.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.