First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Acquires 620 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 14.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 620 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $657,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 7,752.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 483,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,803,000 after purchasing an additional 477,235 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 12,606.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 463,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $612,320,000 after buying an additional 460,262 shares in the last quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC boosted its position in American Water Works by 7,062.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 318,316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,417,000 after buying an additional 313,872 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in American Water Works by 1,173.5% in the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 336,650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,687,000 after acquiring an additional 310,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 741.5% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 318,215 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,405,000 after acquiring an additional 280,402 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Price Performance

NYSE AWK opened at $128.75 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $25.08 billion, a PE ratio of 26.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $119.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.85. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.34 and a 52-week high of $151.24.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $962.30 million. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 9.74%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.91 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. This is a positive change from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.40%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 843 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.59, for a total transaction of $100,814.37. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,942,141.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AWK shares. Evercore ISI lowered American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $160.00 to $135.00 in a report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com downgraded American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd.

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.