First Manhattan CO. LLC. Has $21.27 Million Stock Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. reduced its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 170,857 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,950 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC. owned approximately 0.09% of American Water Works worth $21,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 1.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 376,348 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $55,037,000 after purchasing an additional 3,560 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 129.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 502,391 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $73,470,000 after purchasing an additional 283,579 shares in the last quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,765 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 469.5% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 1,213 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 42,257 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,261,000 after purchasing an additional 2,562 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK stock traded up $1.41 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $146.81. 724,564 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,195,309. The stock's 50-day moving average is $144.76 and its 200-day moving average is $134.94. 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 stock has a market cap of $28.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.74 and a 52 week high of $155.50.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. American Water Works's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This is a boost from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on AWK. Barclays began coverage on 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. Evercore ISI upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Water Works currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $143.22.

About American Water Works

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.