Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 12,572 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Welch & Forbes LLC reduced its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 131,787 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 12,572 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $17,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AWK. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 538,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,127,000 after buying an additional 20,288 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in American Water Works by 7,752.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 483,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,803,000 after purchasing an additional 477,235 shares during the period. Covea Finance lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Covea Finance now owns 278,493 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,758,000 after purchasing an additional 47,200 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 27.8% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 81,976 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,151,000 after purchasing an additional 17,834 shares during the period. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth about $1,207,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Water Works Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:AWK traded up $1.50 during mid-day 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 quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.38 billion, a PE ratio of 26.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $119.78 and a 200-day moving average of $124.51. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.34 and a 1 year high of $151.24.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $962.30 million. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 9.74%. American Water Works’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AWK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI lowered American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $160.00 to $135.00 in a report on Friday, February 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Water Works news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 843 shares of the firm’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 value of $100,814.37. Following the completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.