American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Sold by Montanaro Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• Montanaro Asset Management Ltd cut its position in American Water Works by 37.0% in the first quarter, resulting in ownership of 87,300 shares worth approximately $12.88 million.
• Institutional investors own 86.58% of American Water Works' stock, with several firms making significant adjustments to their holdings in recent months, including Renaissance Technologies LLC and Sterling Capital Management LLC.
• American Water Works reported $1.48 EPS for its latest quarter, which was below the consensus estimate of $1.53, while revenues were up 11.1% year-over-year.

Montanaro Asset Management Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 37.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 87,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 51,200 shares during the quarter. American Water Works makes up 3.8% of Montanaro Asset Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Montanaro Asset Management Ltd's holdings in American Water Works were worth $12,878,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AWK. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in American Water Works by 24.1% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,532,131 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $668,566,000 after acquiring an additional 878,951 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in 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 during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the 1st quarter worth approximately $103,053,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in American Water Works by 20,534.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 615,306 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $90,770,000 after buying an additional 612,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 1st quarter worth $64,870,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AWK shares. Argus boosted their price objective on American Water Works from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on American Water Works from $147.00 to $141.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Mizuho upped their target price on American Water Works from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $143.30.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.3%

American Water Works stock traded up $0.38 during trading on Friday, hitting $143.79. The company had a trading volume of 923,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,674,240. 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 current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $141.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $140.41. The stock has a market cap of $28.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.65.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 21.91%. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.42 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.8275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. American Water Works's payout ratio is 59.64%.

Insider Activity at American Water Works

In other news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the business'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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,084,916.16. The trade was a 27.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.