American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Purchased by Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 39.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,125 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,123 shares during the quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC's holdings in American Water Works were worth $3,999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AWK. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Providence First Trust Co purchased a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 54.2% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AWK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays began coverage on American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group cut American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $143.22.

American Water Works Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:AWK traded down $1.14 on Wednesday, reaching $148.06. The company had a trading volume of 1,041,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,202,441. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.87 billion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $118.74 and a 52-week high of $155.50. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $144.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.86.

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

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.8275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. This is a boost from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. American Water Works's payout ratio is currently 60.29%.

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.