Natixis Advisors L.P. Sells 16,580 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Natixis Advisors L.P. cut its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 20.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,396 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 16,580 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P.'s holdings in American Water Works were worth $8,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth about $230,000. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. raised its holdings in American Water Works by 238.5% during the fourth quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 8,800 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 6,200 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in American Water Works by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 4,979 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $657,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in American Water Works by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 120,124 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $15,855,000 after purchasing an additional 6,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in American Water Works by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 761,875 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $100,560,000 after buying an additional 12,000 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered shares of American Water Works from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 843 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.59, for a total transaction 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Trading Up 1.1 %

AWK stock traded up $1.51 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $134.38. 1,300,407 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,494,992. The stock's fifty day moving average is $120.36 and its 200-day moving average is $124.68. The company has a market cap of $26.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.34 and a 52-week high of $151.24.

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

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 yield of 2.28%. This is a positive change from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. American Water Works's payout ratio is presently 57.40%.

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.