American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Stake Boosted by MML Investors Services LLC

MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 23.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,401 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in American Water Works by 155.6% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the third quarter worth about $51,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in American Water Works by 31.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in American Water Works by 446.2% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of AWK stock opened at $128.91 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.70. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.34 and a fifty-two week high of $150.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AWK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on American Water Works in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upgraded American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Mizuho downgraded shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $142.29.

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.