OneAscent Financial Services LLC Has $538,000 Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

OneAscent Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 113.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,652 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 1,943 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC's holdings in American Water Works were worth $538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AWK. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $227,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,677,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 18,472 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,300,000 after acquiring an additional 5,836 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 545,764 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $67,942,000 after acquiring an additional 29,041 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $13,617,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,572 shares in the company, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AWK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $156.00 price objective (up from $154.00) on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, July 11th. 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 research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $141.67.

American Water Works Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE AWK traded down $1.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $140.85. The company had a trading volume of 556,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,394,589. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $141.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.20. 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 company has a market capitalization of $27.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.67, a PEG ratio of 3.43 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.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 company 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%. American Water Works'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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a $0.8275 dividend. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. This is a positive change from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is 60.29%.

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.