American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Bought by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 14.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its position in American Water Works by 268.0% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 537,138 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $66,868,000 after acquiring an additional 391,166 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 0.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 969,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $141,709,000 after purchasing an additional 5,889 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 129.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 502,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,470,000 after purchasing an additional 283,579 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in American Water Works in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,988,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in American Water Works by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,034,221 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $145,170,000 after buying an additional 29,961 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AWK shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Wolfe Research raised American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $142.29.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AWK opened at $121.82 on Tuesday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.34 and a 52-week high of $150.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.48.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.59%.

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.