Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,177,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,642 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $173,757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AWK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,248,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,724,624,000 after purchasing an additional 141,038 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 24.1% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,532,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $668,566,000 after purchasing an additional 878,951 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in American Water Works by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,357,726 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $418,003,000 after buying an additional 335,683 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in American Water Works by 38.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,695,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $335,592,000 after buying an additional 747,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in American Water Works by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,109,409 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $262,601,000 after buying an additional 17,673 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

In related news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total value of $404,766.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,084,916.16. This represents a 27.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AWK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of American Water Works from $138.00 to $128.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price objective (up previously from $154.00) on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, July 11th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on 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. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on American Water Works from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $142.00.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.6%

AWK opened at $145.29 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $28.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.18, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.65. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $118.74 and a one year high of $155.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $141.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.99.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.05). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 21.91%. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.42 earnings per share. American Water Works’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.64%.

American Water Works Company 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.