Avanza Fonder AB Acquires Shares of 21,189 American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 21,189 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,638,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 155.6% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the third quarter worth about $51,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in American Water Works by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in American Water Works by 446.2% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 426 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AWK shares. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of American Water Works from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $133.00 to $129.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group raised American Water Works from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Mizuho downgraded 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.00.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE:AWK traded up $0.33 on Friday, hitting $126.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,003,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 898,568. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $113.34 and a one year high of $150.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $129.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.71.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. American Water Works's payout ratio is presently 60.59%.

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.