Swedbank AB Grows Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 65.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 106,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 42,094 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $15,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 6,902,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $890,422,000 after purchasing an additional 247,745 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 6.8% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,245,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $328,354,000 after buying an additional 143,914 shares in the last quarter. Mirova US LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 2.1% during the second quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 1,588,109 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $205,120,000 after buying an additional 32,764 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its holdings in American Water Works by 12,816.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,464,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $189,177,000 after buying an additional 1,453,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in American Water Works by 1,131.1% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,438,137 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $210,313,000 after acquiring an additional 1,321,320 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AWK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group upgraded American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $142.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

In related news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of American Water Works stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $5,268,308. This trade represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE AWK opened at $137.63 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $26.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.25, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.80. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.34 and a 1 year high of $150.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is currently 60.59%.

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.