M&T Bank Corp Sells 408 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

M&T Bank Corp reduced its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 31,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 408 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $4,100,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 3,229.7% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 269,210 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,533,000 after purchasing an additional 261,125 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $253,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $230,000. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 238.5% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 14.2% during the 4th 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 last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AWK shares. Evercore ISI cut American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $135.00 in a report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com downgraded American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE:AWK opened at $131.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $120.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.63. The company has a market cap of $25.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.85. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.34 and a fifty-two week high of $151.24.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $962.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. American Water Works’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. This is a boost from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 843 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.59, for a total transaction of $100,814.37. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,942,141.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.