46,551 American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Shares Purchased by M&G PLC

M&G PLC boosted its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 5.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 927,898 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 46,551 shares during the period. M&G PLC owned approximately 0.47% of American Water Works worth $119,699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AWK. Vestor Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 17,601.7% in the third quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 712,315 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $92,223,000 after acquiring an additional 708,291 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 103.0% during the third quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 6,138 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $860,000 after acquiring an additional 3,114 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 68.1% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 68,970 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,930,000 after acquiring an additional 27,943 shares during the period. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP raised its holdings in American Water Works by 12.3% during the third quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 24,006 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,215,000 after purchasing an additional 2,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works by 0.5% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,462,436 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $314,847,000 after purchasing an additional 13,145 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AWK shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American Water Works from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Water Works from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Truist Financial set a $139.00 target price on American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays cut their target price on American Water Works from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $141.14.

American Water Works Stock Down 0.7%

AWK stock opened at $149.19 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $29.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.56. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $120.57 and a 52 week high of $153.69. The company's 50-day moving average price is $136.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $132.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.04 by ($0.04). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.14% and a net margin of 21.26%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 12th will be issued a $0.8950 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.05%.

About American Water Works

American Water Works Company, Inc is a U.S. water and wastewater utility that provides services to residential, commercial, industrial, and public-sector customers. Its operations include treating and distributing drinking water, collecting and treating wastewater, and maintaining the infrastructure needed to deliver those services.

The company operates regulated water and wastewater utilities across multiple states, serving communities in regions including the Northeast, Midwest, and South.

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