KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Raises Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 4.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 114,086 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned approximately 0.06% of American Water Works worth $16,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 14.3% during the first quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 342,713 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $50,557,000 after purchasing an additional 42,987 shares during the period. PFG Advisors lifted its stake in American Water Works by 33.4% in the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 9,699 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,431,000 after acquiring an additional 2,429 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in American Water Works by 5.9% in the first quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,160 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in American Water Works by 4.2% in the first quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,903 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $723,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the first quarter worth $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at American Water Works

In related news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of American Water Works stock in a transaction dated 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 $1,084,916.16. The trade was a 27.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AWK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted 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. Finally, 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $141.67.

American Water Works Price Performance

AWK stock traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $140.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 893,933 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,395,686. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $118.74 and a 12 month 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50 day moving average of $141.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.33.

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

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.36%. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.