Raymond James & Associates Cuts Stock Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Raymond James & Associates trimmed its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 3.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 548,705 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 17,801 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.28% of American Water Works worth $70,871,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,557,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at $239,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in American Water Works by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 2,174 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc raised its holdings in American Water Works by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 203,704 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,887,000 after buying an additional 33,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,943 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,180,000 after buying an additional 1,495 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.7 %

American Water Works stock traded down $1.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $140.98. The stock had a trading volume of 643,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,274,172. The stock has a market cap of $27.47 billion, a PE ratio of 28.60, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.73. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.34 and a 52 week high of $149.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. American Water Works's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th will be given a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AWK. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of American Water Works from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded American Water Works from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.17.

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.