American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Stake Reduced by Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc.

Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. cut its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 88 shares during the period. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in American Water Works by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,045,002 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $137,930,000 after acquiring an additional 24,661 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 178,599 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,573,000 after purchasing an additional 2,189 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 71.1% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 22,558 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,977,000 after purchasing an additional 9,376 shares during the period. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. grew its position in American Water Works by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. now owns 2,282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at about $292,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AWK traded up $1.14 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $132.96. The company had a trading volume of 1,417,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,497,085. The company has a market cap of $25.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.97, 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. The business’s 50-day moving average is $120.06 and its 200 day moving average is $124.63. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.34 and a 52 week high of $151.24.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.03). American Water Works had a net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 9.74%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $962.30 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.765 per share. This is an increase from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 57.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com downgraded American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd.

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.