Confluence Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 268.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 537,138 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 391,166 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $66,868,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,503,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,682,280,000 after acquiring an additional 214,082 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 247,745 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,564,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $665,163,000 after buying an additional 43,754 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings 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. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 12,816.0% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,464,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $189,177,000 after buying an additional 1,453,334 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Water Works Price Performance

NYSE AWK traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $124.64. 157,478 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,203,349. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.57. 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. The company has a market cap of $24.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.70.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AWK. Mizuho lowered shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group upgraded American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on American Water Works in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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.