Boston Common Asset Management LLC Sells 30,682 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 16.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 158,095 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 30,682 shares during the quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC owned about 0.08% of American Water Works worth $23,322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 8,438 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,051,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Glenview Trust co raised its stake in American Water Works by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 4,986 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $621,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Water Works by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,241 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Water Works by 54.2% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AWK shares. Barclays started coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group downgraded shares of American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Water Works presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.22.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE AWK traded up $1.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $142.68. The stock had a trading volume of 3,771,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,230,239. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.39. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $118.74 and a 1 year high of $155.50. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $144.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.52. The firm has a market cap of $27.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73.

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

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.8275 dividend. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. This is an increase from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works's payout ratio is presently 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.