Wealthfront Advisers LLC Grows Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 254.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,446 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 29,740 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in American Water Works were worth $6,114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AWK. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $294,524,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 38.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,695,734 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $335,592,000 after purchasing an additional 747,316 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 20,534.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 615,306 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $90,770,000 after purchasing an additional 612,324 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,142,465 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $391,205,000 after purchasing an additional 414,568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 55.9% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 980,596 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $122,074,000 after purchasing an additional 351,533 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were 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 owned 7,572 shares in the company, valued at $1,084,916.16. This represents a 27.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AWK. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Evercore ISI lifted 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. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $156.00 price objective (up previously from $154.00) on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.67.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:AWK traded up $0.67 during trading on Friday, hitting $142.88. 1,934,439 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,242,204. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.03, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.44. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $118.74 and a 12-month high of $155.50. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $141.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.68.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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 quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a $0.8275 dividend. This is an increase from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio 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.