Caprock Group LLC Acquires 597 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 20.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 597 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in American Water Works during the second quarter valued at $357,000. Asset Dedication LLC increased its position 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 valued at $699,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 40.3% during the second quarter. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. now owns 42,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,470,000 after purchasing an additional 12,167 shares during the period. SFE Investment Counsel boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 20.5% during the second quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 41,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,372,000 after purchasing an additional 7,066 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.9% during the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 361,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,712,000 after purchasing an additional 10,284 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total value of $101,423.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 36,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,268,308. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:AWK opened at $147.16 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $113.34 and a 1-year high of $149.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $141.39 and a 200 day moving average of $130.44. The firm has a market cap of $28.67 billion, a PE ratio of 29.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 21.93%. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were paid a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.07%.

American Water Works 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.