Larson Financial Group LLC Buys 3,319 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 855.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,707 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,319 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC's holdings in American Water Works were worth $547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 4,679 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $690,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in American Water Works by 4.8% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,607 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in American Water Works by 1.4% during the first quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 6,157 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $908,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 8,438 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,051,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in American Water Works by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,241 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 value of $404,766.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,572 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,084,916.16. This represents a 27.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Water Works Price Performance

NYSE:AWK opened at $142.30 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $141.11 and a 200 day moving average of $137.68. 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 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.35% and a net margin of 22.24%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This is a positive change from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. American Water Works's payout ratio is presently 60.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AWK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of 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. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $156.00 target price (up from $154.00) on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $141.67.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.