Heck Capital Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Key Points

• Heck Capital Advisors LLC significantly reduced its stake in American Water Works by 50.7%, owning only 4,017 shares after selling 4,134 shares in the first quarter, valued at $593,000.
• American Water Works recently declared a dividend of $0.8275 per share, set to be paid on September 3rd, which corresponds to an annualized dividend yield of 2.3%.
• Analysts' target prices for American Water Works show mixed sentiments, with Mizuho and UBS setting neutral ratings while several others have cut their price targets, indicating a consensus rating of "Hold".

Heck Capital Advisors LLC cut its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 50.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,017 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,134 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in American Water Works were worth $593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AWK. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 24.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 878,951 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 38.4% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the first quarter worth about $103,053,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 20,534.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 615,306 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $90,770,000 after purchasing an additional 612,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the first quarter worth about $64,870,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Trading Down 2.4%

AWK stock opened at $142.05 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $27.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.59, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $140.17. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.74 and a 52 week high of $155.50.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). American Water Works had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.42 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on AWK shares. Mizuho lifted their target price on American Water Works from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group cut their target price on American Water Works from $156.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on American Water Works from $147.00 to $141.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.44.

Insider Transactions at American Water Works

In related news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total value of $404,766.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,916.16. This represents a 27.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

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.

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