Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 6,808 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 116,817 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,808 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $15,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AWK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 2.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,648,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,012,272,000 after purchasing an additional 624,977 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its holdings in American Water Works by 153.8% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 13,640 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,667,000 after acquiring an additional 8,266 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 202.2% during the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 46,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,699,000 after purchasing an additional 31,203 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its position in American Water Works by 945.5% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,806,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $238,397,000 after acquiring an additional 1,633,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parsifal Capital Management LP bought a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at $44,441,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.7 %

AWK opened at $148.14 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.65. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $113.34 and a 1-year high of $149.00. The stock has a market cap of $28.86 billion, a PE ratio of 30.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.05). American Water Works had a net margin of 21.93% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is 62.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

In other American Water Works news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total transaction of $101,423.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 36,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,268,308. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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.