State of Michigan Retirement System Increases Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

State of Michigan Retirement System raised its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 0.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $6,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 110.8% in the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 79.2% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 100.0% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 71.9% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Performance

AWK traded up $0.75 on Tuesday, reaching $128.51. The company had a trading volume of 665,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,374,835. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.34 and a 1 year high of $151.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.04 billion, a PE ratio of 26.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $129.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $125.48.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 9.74%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $962.30 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. American Water Works’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th were issued a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. This is a boost from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of American Water Works from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.33.

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.