Royal Bank of Canada Purchases 17,673 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,109,409 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 17,673 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 1.08% of American Water Works worth $262,601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Providence First Trust Co bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 54.2% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Price Performance

NYSE AWK traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $143.43. 1,699,336 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,220,686. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $144.34 and a 200-day moving average of $135.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $118.74 and a one year high of $155.50. The stock has a market cap of $27.97 billion, a PE ratio of 26.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73.

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). The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This is a boost from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is 60.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AWK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI lifted 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.22.

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.