American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Shares Sold by Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. reduced its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 41.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,160 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,270 shares during the period. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in American Water Works by 71.7% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new position in American Water Works in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AWK shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 price target on American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial started coverage on American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $137.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on American Water Works from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen raised American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $139.11.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE AWK opened at $124.26 on Wednesday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $121.28 and a one year high of $147.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $133.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $131.37.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.09). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 21.17%.The business had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 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 Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.895 per share. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. This is a boost from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is 63.48%.

American Water Works Company Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc (NYSE: AWK) is a publicly traded utility company that provides water and wastewater services in the United States. Its core business is the operation, management and maintenance of regulated water and wastewater systems that deliver potable water, collect and treat wastewater, and provide related customer services to residential, commercial and industrial customers as well as municipalities. The company’s operations include water treatment and distribution, wastewater collection and treatment, meter reading and billing, emergency repairs, and long-term infrastructure planning and capital project execution.

In addition to its regulated utility operations, American Water offers complementary nonregulated services and solutions that support system reliability and customer needs.