American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Bought by FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH raised its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 6.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,766 shares during the quarter. American Water Works accounts for about 0.9% of FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $3,831,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 110.8% during the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 79.2% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 71.9% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Performance

AWK traded up $1.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $128.93. 165,950 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,370,872. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.52. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.34 and a 12 month high of $151.22. The stock has a market cap of $25.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

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

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th were paid a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. This is a boost from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AWK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on American Water Works from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. StockNews.com cut American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.33.

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.