American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Acquired by LPL Financial LLC

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in American Water Works by 37.3% in the first quarter, owning approximately 349,963 shares valued at $51.6 million by the end of the quarter.
• Despite institutional investors owning 86.58% of the company's stock, a recent downgrade by Wall Street Zen changed its rating from "hold" to "sell," while the consensus target price for the stock is currently set at $141.67.
• American Water Works announced a $0.8275 quarterly dividend to be paid on September 3rd, with an annualized yield of 2.4% and a payout ratio of 59.64%.

LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 37.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 349,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 94,987 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.18% of American Water Works worth $51,627,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AWK. RWC Asset Management LLP grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 21,197 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in American Water Works by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 224,486 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,116,000 after acquiring an additional 31,390 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in American Water Works by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 6,707 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $989,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in American Water Works by 52.8% during the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,108 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC lifted its stake in American Water Works by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 15,512 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,288,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at American Water Works

In other American Water Works news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the company's 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 owned 7,572 shares in the company, valued at $1,084,916.16. This represents a 27.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AWK. Evercore ISI raised 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. Barclays lowered their target price 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. Mizuho lifted their price target on American Water Works from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $156.00 price target (up from $154.00) on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $142.00.

American Water Works Stock Down 4.0%

AWK traded down $5.92 on Tuesday, reaching $141.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,964,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,419,796. The stock has a market cap of $27.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.65. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $118.74 and a 1 year high of $155.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The business's 50 day moving average is $141.31 and its 200 day moving average is $139.46.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.42 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

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

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.