DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Has $48.81 Million Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 337,306 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,440 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned approximately 0.17% of American Water Works worth $48,808,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 133.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 862 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,136,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its position in American Water Works by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,796 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $522,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. raised its holdings in American Water Works by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 1,670 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,112 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $512,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AWK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group cut American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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. Barclays started coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on 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 downgraded American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Water Works has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.22.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE AWK opened at $141.09 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $141.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.95. The company has a market capitalization of $27.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.69. 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.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This is a positive change 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 60.29%.

Insider Transactions at American Water Works

In other American Water Works 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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