American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Sold by EFG Asset Management Americas Corp.

Key Points

• EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. sold 14,881 shares of American Water Works, reducing its stake by 65.2% to 7,929 shares, with holdings valued at $1,170,000.
• American Water Works reported Q2 earnings per share of $1.48, missing estimates by $0.05, but its revenue reached $1.28 billion, exceeding expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.8275, which provides an annual yield of 2.37%, and has a dividend payout ratio of 60.29%.

EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. lowered its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 65.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,929 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 14,881 shares during the period. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp.'s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,671,050 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $579,981,000 after purchasing an additional 106,857 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,532,131 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $668,566,000 after purchasing an additional 878,951 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in American Water Works by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,357,726 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $418,003,000 after acquiring an additional 335,683 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,142,465 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $391,205,000 after purchasing an additional 414,568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 38.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,695,734 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $335,592,000 after acquiring an additional 747,316 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of American Water Works from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $156.00 price objective (up previously from $154.00) on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $141.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Water Works currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $142.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of American Water Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total transaction of $404,766.00. Following the completion of 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Water Works Stock Up 3.9%

NYSE:AWK traded up $5.48 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $145.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,693,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,105,963. The company has a market capitalization of $28.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.35. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $118.74 and a 12 month high of $155.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $141.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.12.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.64%.

American Water Works 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.