Covea Finance Increases Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Covea Finance lifted its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 32.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 161,467 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 39,900 shares during the period. Covea Finance owned approximately 0.08% of American Water Works worth $23,820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Segment Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 1st quarter worth approximately $274,000. Brady Family Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 1st quarter worth approximately $220,000. Spirit of America Management Corp NY boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 2,050 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. United Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 1st quarter worth approximately $440,000. Finally, Sterling Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 1st quarter worth approximately $457,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AWK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. UBS Group cut shares of American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI lifted 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut 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 assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Water Works currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $143.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

In other news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total value of $404,766.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,572 shares of the company's stock, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of AWK stock opened at $141.14 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $143.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.44. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $118.74 and a 1 year high of $155.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.71, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.71.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.01). American Water Works had a net margin of 22.24% and a return on equity of 10.35%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. The company's revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were issued 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. 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.

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