American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Purchased by Prudential PLC

Key Points

• Prudential PLC increased its stake in American Water Works by 360.5%, acquiring an additional 62,912 shares valued at approximately $11.85 million.
• Several institutional investors have recently purchased shares of American Water Works, culminating in these entities holding 86.58% of the company's stock.
• American Water Works announced a quarterly dividend of $0.8275 per share, translating to an annual yield of 2.3%, with the payment scheduled for September 3rd.

Prudential PLC increased its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 360.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,362 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 62,912 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in American Water Works were worth $11,855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 62,089 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,147,000 after buying an additional 3,867 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.2% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 534,306 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $78,821,000 after acquiring an additional 11,430 shares in the last quarter. Gouws Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the first quarter valued at about $283,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 3.0% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 52,087 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,684,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Linscomb Wealth Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 5.6% during the first quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 40,432 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,964,000 after acquiring an additional 2,150 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

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 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 owned 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. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE AWK traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $143.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 923,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,436,929. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.29. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.74 and a 52 week high of $155.50. The stock has a market cap of $28.05 billion, a PE ratio of 25.91, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.65.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.05). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 21.91%. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.42 EPS. The business's revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a $0.8275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AWK. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on American Water Works from $147.00 to $141.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Argus raised their target price on American Water Works from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays lowered their target price on American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of American Water Works from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.30.

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.