Machina Capital S.A.S. Has $464,000 Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Machina Capital S.A.S. trimmed its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 17.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,516 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 752 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 538,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $71,127,000 after purchasing an additional 20,288 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in American Water Works by 7,752.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 483,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,803,000 after purchasing an additional 477,235 shares in the last quarter. Covea Finance lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Covea Finance now owns 278,493 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,758,000 after purchasing an additional 47,200 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 27.8% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 81,976 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,151,000 after buying an additional 17,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth about $1,207,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Price Performance

NYSE AWK traded up $1.50 during trading on Monday, hitting $130.25. 1,314,491 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,494,950. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $119.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.51. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.34 and a fifty-two week high of $151.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $25.38 billion, a PE ratio of 26.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.62.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.03). American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 22.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $962.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. This is an increase from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

In related news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 843 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.59, for a total value of $100,814.37. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,942,141.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Friday, February 16th.

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.