Sowell Financial Services LLC Takes Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,775 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $852,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in American Water Works by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 65,249 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,123,000 after buying an additional 2,113 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Water Works by 45.2% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,326 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth $373,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 6,235 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $776,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Redmond Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $856,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at American Water Works

In other American Water Works news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total transaction of $404,766.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,572 shares in the company, valued at $1,084,916.16. The trade was a 27.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of AWK traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $141.57. The company had a trading volume of 393,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,216,270. The company's 50 day moving average price is $143.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.92. The stock has a market cap of $27.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.76, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.71. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.74 and a 52 week high of $155.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.35% and a net margin of 22.24%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were issued a $0.8275 dividend. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. This is an increase from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works's payout ratio is 60.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AWK. Evercore ISI increased 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group cut shares of American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays began coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Water Works has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.