Legal & General Group Plc Has $414.01 Million Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 5.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,205,368 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 201,334 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 1.65% of American Water Works worth $414,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its position in American Water Works by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 71.9% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK stock opened at $144.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization 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. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.34 and a 12 month high of $150.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $143.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $132.67.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 21.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total value of $101,423.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 36,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,268,308. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Wolfe Research upgraded American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, 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 stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.29.

American Water Works Company 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.