Praxis Investment Management Inc. Has $1.82 Million Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Praxis Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 15.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,330 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,270 shares during the quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter worth $294,524,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 120.7% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,174,395 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $395,180,000 after buying an additional 1,736,258 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 38.4% in the 4th 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 during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 20,534.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 615,306 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $90,770,000 after buying an additional 612,324 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter worth $71,120,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of American Water Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total transaction of $404,766.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,572 shares of the company's stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AWK shares. Wall Street Zen lowered American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on 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 started coverage on American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI raised their target price on 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, UBS Group downgraded American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $143.22.

American Water Works Stock Performance

AWK stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $141.14. The company had a trading volume of 2,415,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,221,918. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $143.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.01. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.74 and a fifty-two week high of $155.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.52 billion, a PE ratio of 25.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.71.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 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 company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. This is a boost from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. American Water Works's 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.