Eastern Bank Makes New $374,000 Investment in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $374,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AWK. 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 valued at $3,012,272,000 after purchasing an additional 624,977 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its stake in American Water Works by 153.8% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 13,640 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,667,000 after acquiring an additional 8,266 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP grew its holdings in American Water Works by 202.2% during the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 46,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,699,000 after acquiring an additional 31,203 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in American Water Works by 21.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,023,000 after acquiring an additional 5,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 163,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,943,000 after purchasing an additional 27,200 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Water Works Trading Up 1.0 %

AWK opened at $142.12 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $27.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.69. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.34 and a 52 week high of $150.68. The business’s 50 day moving average is $143.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.05). American Water Works had a net margin of 21.93% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.07%.

Insider Activity at American Water Works

In other American Water Works news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total transaction of $101,423.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 36,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,268,308. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on AWK. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Mizuho downgraded American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on American Water Works in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.