Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Acquires 19,000 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 1,176.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,000 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $2,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 25.5% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 15,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,248,000 after buying an additional 3,148 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 7.3% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 22,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,313,000 after buying an additional 1,535 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 4.9% in the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 1,977 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. abrdn plc increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 33.4% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 257,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,195,000 after buying an additional 64,489 shares during the period. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the third quarter worth $506,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on AWK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of American Water Works from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.57.

American Water Works Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE:AWK opened at $135.01 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $125.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.52. The company has a market capitalization of $26.32 billion, a PE ratio of 25.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.35. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $113.34 and a 1-year high of $150.68.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. On average, equities analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 56.77%.

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.