Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 58,674 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 20.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 232,517 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 58,674 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.12% of American Water Works worth $30,699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AWK. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the third quarter valued at about $277,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 96,987 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $12,010,000 after buying an additional 669 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Toews Corp ADV purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the third quarter worth approximately $755,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 36,831 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,561,000 after acquiring an additional 4,909 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Stock Performance

AWK traded up $2.80 on Wednesday, hitting $125.12. The company had a trading volume of 1,994,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,471,066. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $113.34 and a 1-year high of $151.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company's fifty day moving average price is $119.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.27. The stock has a market cap of $24.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.63.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.30% and a return on equity of 9.70%. American Water Works's quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. Equities analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. This is a boost from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. American Water Works's payout ratio is currently 57.87%.

Insider Activity at American Water Works

In other news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 843 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.59, for a total transaction of $100,814.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,240 shares in the company, valued at $1,942,141.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AWK has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI lowered shares of American Water Works from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Friday, February 16th.

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.