Carret Asset Management LLC Sells 78 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Carret Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 78 shares during the period. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in American Water Works by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in American Water Works by 71.9% in the 4th 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 bought a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AWK opened at $143.12 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $138.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.20. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $113.34 and a one year high of $149.00. The firm has a market cap of $27.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.67.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.05). The company 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.26 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th will be paid a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AWK. Wells Fargo & Company cut American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on American Water Works from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.17.

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.