American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Stock Holdings Increased by Toronto Dominion Bank

Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 23.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 119,282 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 22,855 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank owned about 0.06% of American Water Works worth $14,849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AWK. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group lowered shares of American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays began 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $143.22.

American Water Works Stock Up 0.4%

AWK traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $141.43. 1,097,039 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,218,700. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.74 and a fifty-two week high of $155.50. The company has a market cap of $27.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73. 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 firm's fifty day simple moving average is $144.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.40.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast 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 dividend of $0.8275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This is an increase from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. American Water Works's payout ratio is currently 60.29%.

American Water Works Company 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.