Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Purchases 6,778 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 440,316 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,778 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of American Water Works worth $54,815,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the 3rd quarter valued at $253,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in American Water Works by 400.5% in the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 4,124 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in American Water Works by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,221 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in American Water Works by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 17,155 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,509,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in American Water Works by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 7,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,132,000 after buying an additional 781 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK stock traded down $1.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $125.76. 1,698,820 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,208,321. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.90, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.72. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $125.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.41. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.34 and a 52 week high of $150.68.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on AWK. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American Water Works from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $133.00 to $129.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $139.38.

American Water Works Company 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.