Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Decreases Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB has reduced its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. by 6.9%, now owning 85,081 shares valued at approximately $12.55 million.
• American Water Works recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.8275 per share, up from $0.77, representing an annualized yield of 2.36%.
• Analysts have mixed outlooks on American Water Works, with recent ratings ranging from a "buy" to "sell", while the average price target is set at $141.67.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ decreased its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,081 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,295 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ's holdings in American Water Works were worth $12,551,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in American Water Works in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 78.3% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 410 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK traded down $0.66 on Wednesday, reaching $140.29. 260,435 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,383,507. 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 PE ratio of 25.60, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.69. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $141.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $138.82. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $118.74 and a 52-week high of $155.50.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a $0.8275 dividend. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.29%.

Insider Transactions at American Water Works

In other American Water Works news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was 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 directly owned 7,572 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through this link. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $156.00 price target (up from $154.00) on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Water Works currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.67.

American Water Works 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.