Forsta AP Fonden Boosts Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Forsta AP Fonden raised its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $4,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in American Water Works by 21.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,023,000 after purchasing an additional 5,564 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,418,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $300,739,000 after buying an additional 125,128 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 42,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,261,000 after acquiring an additional 2,562 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its position in American Water Works by 65.5% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 106,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,557,000 after acquiring an additional 42,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at $1,783,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AWK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on American Water Works in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American Water Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $133.00 to $129.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Mizuho lowered shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $139.38.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:AWK opened at $124.62 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $127.54 and a 200 day moving average of $136.54. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.34 and a 52 week high of $150.68.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.59%.

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.