EP Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $275,000 in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 1,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $275,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,858 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in American Water Works by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $938,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 2,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Invesco LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 2,467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 5,415 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $699,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK stock opened at $129.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company has a market capitalization of $25.26 billion, a PE ratio of 25.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $136.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.80. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $113.34 and a 12 month high of $150.68.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AWK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of American Water Works in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group raised American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.