Merit Financial Group LLC Raises Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 26.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 903 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $630,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 5.0% during the first quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,759,000 after buying an additional 564 shares during the period. Strong Tower Advisory Services boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 17.6% during the first quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 15,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,251,000 after buying an additional 2,371 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the first quarter worth $110,000. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in American Water Works by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 44,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,602,000 after purchasing an additional 2,496 shares during the period. Finally, Mirador Capital Partners LP raised its position in American Water Works by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 9,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,330,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

In other American Water Works news, CAO Melissa K. Wikle sold 2,825 shares of American Water Works stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.28, for a total value of $404,766.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,916.16. This trade represents a 27.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AWK shares. Barclays started coverage on American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lowered American Water Works from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on 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. Wall Street Zen lowered American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.22.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.2%

AWK opened at $139.83 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $27.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.71. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.74 and a 52 week high of $155.50. The business’s 50 day moving average is $143.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.01). The firm 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th were paid a $0.8275 dividend. This is an increase from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.29%.

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.