Welch & Forbes LLC Trims Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Welch & Forbes LLC decreased its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 131,787 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 12,572 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC owned 0.07% of American Water Works worth $17,395,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 15.4% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 36,831 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,561,000 after buying an additional 4,909 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 39.7% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 43,782 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,422,000 after acquiring an additional 12,433 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,624,434 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $201,154,000 after acquiring an additional 137,006 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 3.9% during the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 10,629 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 13.3% in the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 29,800 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,690,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 843 shares of American Water Works stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.59, for a total value of $100,814.37. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,942,141.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AWK shares. Evercore ISI lowered shares of American Water Works from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $135.00 in a report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com cut American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd.

American Water Works Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of American Water Works stock traded up $1.50 during trading on Monday, reaching $130.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,314,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,494,950. The company has a market cap of $25.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.42, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.62. The firm's 50-day moving average is $119.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.51. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.34 and a 52-week high of $151.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.03). American Water Works had a net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 9.74%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $962.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. This is an increase from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. American Water Works's payout ratio is presently 57.40%.

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.

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