PFG Advisors Has $1.43 Million Stock Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

PFG Advisors raised its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 33.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,699 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 2,429 shares during the period. PFG Advisors' holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,431,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,107,225 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,125,598,000 after buying an additional 217,582 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in American Water Works by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,671,050 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $579,981,000 after purchasing an additional 106,857 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in American Water Works by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,532,131 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $668,566,000 after purchasing an additional 878,951 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in American Water Works by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,357,726 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $418,003,000 after purchasing an additional 335,683 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in American Water Works by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,142,465 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $391,205,000 after purchasing an additional 414,568 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Stock Down 0.2%

American Water Works stock traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $140.29. 893,933 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,395,686. 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 stock has a market cap of $27.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $141.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.33.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last released 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). American Water Works had a net margin of 22.24% and a return on equity of 10.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. This is a boost 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%.

Insider Transactions at American Water Works

In related news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total value of $404,766.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,916.16. This trade represents a 27.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AWK. Barclays cut their target price 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. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $156.00 target price (up from $154.00) on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.