M&T Bank Corp Reduces Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

M&T Bank Corp cut its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,330 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,919 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in American Water Works were worth $8,899,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $294,524,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 38.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,695,734 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $335,592,000 after buying an additional 747,316 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 20,534.0% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,142,465 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $391,205,000 after buying an additional 414,568 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in American Water Works by 55.9% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 980,596 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $122,074,000 after acquiring an additional 351,533 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of American Water Works stock traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $142.23. The stock had a trading volume of 948,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,238,511. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.69. 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 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.22.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th were issued 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 dividend yield of 2.33%. American Water Works's payout ratio is presently 60.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Water Works news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,572 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,084,916.16. This trade represents a 27.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AWK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on American Water Works from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays reduced their target price on American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.