11,704 Shares in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Acquired by Woodline Partners LP

Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 11,704 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,457,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AWK. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth about $294,524,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $395,180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,258 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 38.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,695,734 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $335,592,000 after purchasing an additional 747,316 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth about $71,120,000. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 11.9% in the fourth 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. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Water Works Price Performance

NYSE AWK traded up $0.58 during trading on Friday, reaching $142.12. 188,327 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,214,643. 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $144.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.45. The company has a market cap of $27.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.74 and a 1-year high of $155.50.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a $0.8275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. This is a boost from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. American Water Works's payout ratio is 60.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AWK. Barclays began coverage on American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group downgraded American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded American Water Works from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on American Water Works from $139.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.