Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Boosts Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $522,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AWK. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in American Water Works by 120.7% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,174,395 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $395,180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,258 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 4,227.0% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 711,927 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 695,474 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth about $71,120,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 268.0% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 537,138 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $66,868,000 after acquiring an additional 391,166 shares during the period. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new position in American Water Works in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,872,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE AWK opened at $149.16 on Tuesday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.34 and a 52 week high of $152.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $127.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $134.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.08 billion, a PE ratio of 27.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.69.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AWK shares. UBS Group raised shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.57.

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.