American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Purchased by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 265.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52,912 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 38,420 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in American Water Works were worth $6,587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth about $294,524,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 120.7% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,174,395 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $395,180,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736,258 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth about $71,120,000. Amundi raised its stake in American Water Works by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,490,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $553,687,000 after purchasing an additional 477,411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in American Water Works by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,142,465 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $391,205,000 after acquiring an additional 414,568 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of AWK stock traded up $1.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $146.81. 724,564 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,195,309. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.39. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $144.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.98. The company has a market capitalization of $28.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.74 and a fifty-two week high of $155.50.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. This is a boost from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is 60.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AWK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group downgraded shares of American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.22.

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.