Principal Securities Inc. Purchases 85 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AWK. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,107,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,125,598,000 after acquiring an additional 217,582 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,671,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $579,981,000 after purchasing an additional 106,857 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in American Water Works by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,357,726 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $418,003,000 after purchasing an additional 335,683 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in American Water Works by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,142,465 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $391,205,000 after purchasing an additional 414,568 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in American Water Works by 38.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,695,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $335,592,000 after buying an additional 747,316 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity at American Water Works

In related news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,572 shares in the company, valued at $1,084,916.16. This trade represents a 27.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of American Water Works stock opened at $141.85 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.66 billion, a PE ratio of 25.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $141.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.99. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 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 the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.35% and a net margin of 22.24%. American Water Works’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

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

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.