Perennial Advisors LLC Invests $5.19 Million in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Perennial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 41,719 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,194,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,012 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 8,438 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,051,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Glenview Trust co lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 4,986 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,241 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Water Works by 54.2% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Stock Performance

AWK traded up $0.56 on Thursday, reaching $141.43. The company had a trading volume of 1,097,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,217,780. The stock has a market cap of $27.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.39. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.74 and a fifty-two week high of $155.50. The company's fifty day moving average is $144.29 and its 200 day moving average is $135.40.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The company's revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.8275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. This is an increase from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AWK. UBS Group cut American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.22.

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.