Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Buys 2,852 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 3.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 83,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,852 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $12,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 271,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,786,000 after acquiring an additional 43,406 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $222,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $363,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $974,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 11.2% during the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on American Water Works in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Mizuho downgraded American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, September 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Water Works currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.00.

Insider Activity at American Water Works

In related news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of American Water Works stock in a transaction 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 owns 36,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,268,308. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Water Works Price Performance

American Water Works stock opened at $141.96 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $113.34 and a one year high of $150.68. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $143.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.80, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.69.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.05). American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 21.93%. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. American Water Works’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were issued a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is currently 62.07%.

About American Water Works

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.