Benjamin Edwards Inc. Trims Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. trimmed its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,226 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,418 shares during the quarter. American Water Works comprises approximately 0.8% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $3,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $230,000. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 238.5% during the fourth quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 8,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after buying an additional 6,200 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 4,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $657,000 after buying an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 120,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,855,000 after buying an additional 6,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 761,875 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $100,560,000 after buying an additional 12,000 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Water Works news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 843 shares of American Water Works stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.59, for a total transaction of $100,814.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 can be accessed through this link. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Water Works Price Performance

AWK traded down $1.08 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $124.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 666,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,469,122. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $119.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.27. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.34 and a 12 month high of $151.24. The stock has a market cap of $24.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $962.30 million. American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 22.30%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect 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 disclosed 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 represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. This is a positive change from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. American Water Works’s payout ratio is presently 57.87%.

American Water Works 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.