Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Has $2.47 Million Stock Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 19.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,712 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 2,717 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings in American Water Works were worth $2,465,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $227,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,677,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 18,472 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,300,000 after buying an additional 5,836 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 545,764 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $67,942,000 after buying an additional 29,041 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth about $13,617,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,572 shares in the company, valued at $1,084,916.16. This represents a 27.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK stock traded down $1.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $140.85. The company had a trading volume of 556,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,394,589. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $118.74 and a 12 month high of $155.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.67, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.69. The firm's fifty day moving average is $141.49 and its 200 day moving average is $138.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.49.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.35% and a net margin of 22.24%. The firm's revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.8275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. This is a positive change from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is 60.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AWK. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $156.00 price target (up previously from $154.00) on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen cut American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $141.67.

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.