Nordea Investment Management AB Increases Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,418,102 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 125,128 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned about 1.24% of American Water Works worth $300,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AWK. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in American Water Works by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,818,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,982 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $371,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in American Water Works by 268.0% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 537,138 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $66,868,000 after buying an additional 391,166 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in American Water Works by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 969,016 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $141,709,000 after buying an additional 5,889 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in American Water Works by 129.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 502,391 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $73,470,000 after buying an additional 283,579 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AWK traded down $1.95 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $121.82. 1,044,326 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 830,599. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.34 and a 1 year high of $150.68. The company has a market cap of $23.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.12, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.58. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.54.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on AWK shares. Mizuho lowered American Water Works from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group upgraded American Water Works from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. 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. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on American Water Works in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $142.29.

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.