American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Stock Position Boosted by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,357,726 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 335,683 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.72% of American Water Works worth $418,003,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AWK. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,418,102 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $300,739,000 after acquiring an additional 125,128 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at $277,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 65,249 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,123,000 after buying an additional 2,113 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 42,257 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,261,000 after buying an additional 2,562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter worth $1,783,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE:AWK traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $147.04. 1,115,855 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,208,084. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.74 and a 52 week high of $155.50.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side 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 company also recently announced 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. This is a boost from American Water Works's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is 56.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AWK has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group cut American Water Works from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com raised American Water Works from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of 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. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Water Works 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.