American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Bought by Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP

Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP increased its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 332.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,135 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,101 shares during the period. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP's holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Providence First Trust Co acquired a new position in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 54.2% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays began coverage on American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.22.

American Water Works Stock Up 1.5%

American Water Works stock traded up $2.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $142.54. 1,495,102 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,215,803. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $144.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.95. The firm has a market cap of $27.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $118.74 and a 1 year high of $155.50.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. American Water Works's revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.8275 dividend. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This is an increase from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. American Water Works's payout ratio is currently 60.29%.

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.