Wikle Melissa K. 4

What Happened

• Melissa K. Wikle, SVP and Chief Accounting Officer of American Water Works (AWK), had 318 shares disposed on January 31, 2026 as a payment of tax liability (transaction code F). The shares were valued at $129.13 each, totaling approximately $41,063.
• This was a share withholding to satisfy tax obligations (not an open-market sale). Such withholdings are routine when options vest or awards settle and generally do not indicate a decision to liquidate holdings.

Key Details

• Transaction date: 2026-01-31; Filing date: 2026-02-02 (timely file).
• Price per share: $129.13; Shares withheld/disposed: 318; Total value: ~$41,063.
• Transaction code: F — Payment of exercise price or tax liability (shares withheld to cover taxes).
• Shares owned after transaction: not reported in the provided summary of the filing.
• No 10b5-1 plan or other special instructions noted in the summary provided.

Context

• Code F typically reflects tax withholding related to option exercises or restricted stock vesting. This is a procedural step to cover tax obligations and is different from an open-market sale (which might signal active disposition).
• For retail investors, tax-withholding disposals are common and usually neutral in terms of insider sentiment; they reduce the insider's outstanding share count but do not necessarily indicate a view on the company’s prospects.