USS Investment Management Ltd Lowers Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

USS Investment Management Ltd decreased its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 22.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 68,211 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 20,034 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in American Water Works were worth $8,492,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,107,225 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,125,598,000 after acquiring an additional 217,582 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,671,050 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $579,981,000 after purchasing an additional 106,857 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,490,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $553,687,000 after purchasing an additional 477,411 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,357,726 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $418,003,000 after buying an additional 335,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $395,180,000 after buying an additional 1,736,258 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Stock Performance

AWK stock traded up $1.77 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $143.62. 740,281 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,219,748. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.74 and a 52 week high of $155.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $144.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.24. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $28.01 billion, a PE ratio of 26.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.01). American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.30%. This is an increase from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays started coverage on American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, UBS Group cut American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.