Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 283,579 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 129.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 502,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 283,579 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $73,470,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in American Water Works by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,648,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,012,272,000 after purchasing an additional 624,977 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its position in American Water Works by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 6,902,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $890,422,000 after purchasing an additional 247,745 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,245,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $328,354,000 after purchasing an additional 143,914 shares during the period. Mirova US LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 1,588,109 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $205,120,000 after purchasing an additional 32,764 shares during the period. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its position in American Water Works by 12,816.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,464,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $189,177,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,334 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of American Water Works stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total transaction of $101,423.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 36,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,268,308. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of AWK opened at $136.09 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $142.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $113.34 and a 1-year high of $150.68.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 60.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Mizuho cut shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.00.

American Water Works Company 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.