American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Bought by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 15.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,889 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in American Water Works were worth $2,344,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in American Water Works by 2.1% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 124,352 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $18,344,000 after acquiring an additional 2,570 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 10,547 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,556,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 45.2% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,326 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in American Water Works by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,692 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in American Water Works by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 40,625 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,993,000 after purchasing an additional 1,588 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK stock traded up $0.58 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $142.30. 1,194,981 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,239,435. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.75 billion, a PE ratio of 25.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.69. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $118.74 and a 12 month high of $155.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $141.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.68.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.35% and a net margin of 22.24%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. American Water Works's revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. This is an increase from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. American Water Works's payout ratio is currently 60.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays cut their target price on American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report 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. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $156.00 price objective (up from $154.00) on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $141.67.

Insider Transactions at American Water Works

In other news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of American Water Works stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total transaction of $404,766.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,916.16. The trade was a 27.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Company 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.