FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH Sells 3,395 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH reduced its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 9.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,797 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,395 shares during the period. American Water Works accounts for approximately 1.2% of FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH's holdings in American Water Works were worth $4,838,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AWK. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works by 43.3% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,303 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,603 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 2,880 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 60,525 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,534,000 after acquiring an additional 6,504 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 6,072 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $756,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $1,715,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Water Works

In related news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,572 shares of the company's stock, 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 can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AWK. Barclays began coverage on shares of American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price target on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group lowered American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, American Water Works currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.22.

American Water Works Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $141.26 on Monday. The business's 50 day moving average is $143.47 and its 200 day moving average is $135.79. 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 market cap of $27.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.21, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. American Water Works's revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.8275 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. This is a boost from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.29%.

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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