Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Boosts Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 633,866 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,273 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $81,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in 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. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 6,902,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $890,422,000 after buying an additional 247,745 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,143,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $261,949,000 after buying an additional 25,887 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 945.5% during 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 worth $238,397,000 after acquiring an additional 1,633,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirova US LLC grew its position in American Water Works by 2.1% in the second quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 1,588,109 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $205,120,000 after acquiring an additional 32,764 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at American Water Works

In related news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the 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 transaction, 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 is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AWK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.29.

American Water Works Stock Performance

American Water Works stock opened at $144.93 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $113.34 and a 1-year high of $150.68. The firm has a market cap of $28.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $143.77 and a 200-day moving average of $132.67.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 21.93%. American Water Works’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. 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.