Two Sigma Investments LP Sells 8,393 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Two Sigma Investments LP decreased its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 63.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,866 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,393 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP's holdings in American Water Works were worth $606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AWK. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $277,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in American Water Works by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 65,249 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,123,000 after acquiring an additional 2,113 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,715,000. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $373,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 9.8% in the fourth 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. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AWK shares. 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. Barclays started coverage on American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. 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. UBS Group lowered American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $143.22.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of American Water Works 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,572 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE:AWK opened at $140.04 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.68. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $118.74 and a 1 year high of $155.50. The company has a market capitalization of $27.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.71.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last released its 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). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a $0.8275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. 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 2.36%. American Water Works's payout ratio is 60.29%.

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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