Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 316 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,881 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 316 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $6,178,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Financial LLC boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 8,438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,051,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Glenview Trust co boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 4,986 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $621,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 54.2% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,112 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $512,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total transaction of $404,766.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,916.16. This represents a 27.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $142.19 on Wednesday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $118.74 and a 52-week high of $155.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $143.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.49.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its 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 10.35% and a net margin of 22.24%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 13th. This is a positive change from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AWK. UBS Group cut American Water Works from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays began coverage on American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Water Works has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.22.

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.