American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Bought by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV raised its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 508,685 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,457 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned 0.26% of American Water Works worth $74,390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,648,326 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,012,272,000 after buying an additional 624,977 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 153.8% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 13,640 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,667,000 after purchasing an additional 8,266 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 21.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,283 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,023,000 after buying an additional 5,564 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in American Water Works by 330.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,530 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,287,000 after buying an additional 8,086 shares during the period. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works by 18.1% in the first quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 24,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,033,000 after buying an additional 3,801 shares in the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

In other news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total transaction of $101,423.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 36,880 shares in the company, valued at $5,268,308. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Water Works Price Performance

AWK stock traded up $0.74 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $133.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 401,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,193,574. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company's 50 day moving average is $141.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.25. The stock has a market cap of $25.96 billion, a PE ratio of 26.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.70. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.34 and a fifty-two week high of $150.68.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AWK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on American Water Works in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $124.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of American Water Works from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho lowered shares of American Water Works from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $140.00.

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.