3,345 Shares in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Purchased by Nebula Research & Development LLC

Nebula Research & Development LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,345 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $416,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at $294,524,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in American Water Works by 120.7% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,174,395 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $395,180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,258 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter worth about $71,120,000. Amundi grew its position 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 valued at $553,687,000 after purchasing an additional 477,411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,142,465 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $391,205,000 after acquiring an additional 414,568 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AWK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group cut American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of American Water Works from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $143.22.

American Water Works Stock Performance

AWK stock traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $147.04. The company had a trading volume of 1,115,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,205,964. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $143.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.67 billion, a PE ratio of 27.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.74 and a fifty-two week high of $155.50.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. American Water Works's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. This is a positive change from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. American Water Works's payout ratio is presently 60.29%.

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.