Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. Has $2.18 Million Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. lowered its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 379 shares during the quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $2,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at $294,524,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in American Water Works by 120.7% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,174,395 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $395,180,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736,258 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 38.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,695,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $335,592,000 after acquiring an additional 747,316 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $71,120,000. Finally, Amundi grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,490,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $553,687,000 after purchasing an additional 477,411 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AWK shares. StockNews.com cut American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. Barclays started coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.22.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $143.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.04 billion, a PE ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.74 and a 1-year high of $155.50. The business’s 50 day moving average is $144.34 and its 200-day moving average is $135.08.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.01). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is an increase from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.29%.

About American Water Works

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.