Voloridge Investment Management LLC Takes $4.65 Million Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 37,334 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,648,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AWK. Barclays PLC boosted its position in American Water Works by 1.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 376,348 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $55,037,000 after purchasing an additional 3,560 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Water Works by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,789 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in American Water Works by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 103,548 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $12,891,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in American Water Works by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,073 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in American Water Works by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 969 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of American Water Works stock traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $141.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,097,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,217,780. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $118.74 and a twelve month high of $155.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $144.29 and a 200-day moving average of $135.40. The stock has a market cap of $27.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.39.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a $0.8275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. This is a positive change from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AWK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays initiated coverage on American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group downgraded American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $143.22.

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.