Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Invests $457,000 in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,096 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $457,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AWK. Providence First Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 54.2% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $140.93 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.48 billion, a PE ratio of 25.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.71. The firm's 50-day moving average is $143.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.89. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $118.74 and a 1 year 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 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 company earned $0.95 earnings per share. Analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.8275 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. This is an increase from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. American Water Works's payout ratio is currently 60.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of 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 shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Water Works currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $143.22.

Insider Transactions at American Water Works

In other news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total transaction of $404,766.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

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.

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