Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Reduces Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. trimmed its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 7.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 70,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,500 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $10,390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 124,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,344,000 after purchasing an additional 2,570 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 37.1% during the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Everhart Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in American Water Works by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. Bar Harbor Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Bar Harbor Wealth Management now owns 3,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $482,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 1st quarter worth $201,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Water Works news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of American Water Works stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total transaction of $404,766.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,916.16. The trade was a 27.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

American Water Works Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE AWK opened at $140.42 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $143.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.82. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.74 and a 52 week high of $155.50.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The business’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.8275 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. This is a boost from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. American Water Works’s payout ratio is presently 60.29%.

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.