Bank of Montreal Can Buys 16,477 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 4.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 378,639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,477 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.19% of American Water Works worth $49,208,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in American Water Works by 1.6% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 5,415 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 4,590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $593,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in American Water Works by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 21,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,581,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Journey Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Presima Securities ULC boosted its position in American Water Works by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Presima Securities ULC now owns 5,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $722,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of AWK stock opened at $144.12 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $28.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.69. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.34 and a 1 year high of $150.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $132.24.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Water Works news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total transaction of $101,423.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,880 shares in the company, valued at $5,268,308. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wolfe Research upgraded American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.29.

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.