American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Purchased by Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 15.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,862 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,961 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in American Water Works were worth $8,683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in American Water Works by 133.0% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 862 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works in the 4th quarter worth $11,136,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its position in American Water Works by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,796 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. raised its position in American Water Works by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 1,670 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,112 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AWK shares. 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. 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 note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company 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 issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, American Water Works has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of American Water Works stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 7,572 shares in the company, valued at $1,084,916.16. This trade represents a 27.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE AWK traded up $0.83 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $141.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,413,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,236,606. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The business's 50 day moving average is $141.85 and its 200-day moving average is $136.95. 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 market cap of $27.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.69.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 10.35% and a net margin of 22.24%. The firm's revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, 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 announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. This is a positive change from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.29%.

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.