Confluence Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 268.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 537,138 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 391,166 shares during the quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned about 0.28% of American Water Works worth $66,868,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,503,553 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,682,280,000 after acquiring an additional 214,082 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its position in American Water Works by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 6,902,257 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $890,422,000 after purchasing an additional 247,745 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in American Water Works by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,564,193 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $665,163,000 after purchasing an additional 43,754 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works by 6.8% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,245,306 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $328,354,000 after buying an additional 143,914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 12,816.0% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,464,674 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $189,177,000 after buying an additional 1,453,334 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Price Performance

NYSE:AWK traded down $0.63 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $123.86. 719,074 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,203,349. The company has a market cap of $24.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.70. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.34 and a 1 year high of $150.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $132.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. American Water Works's payout ratio is 60.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AWK. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research raised American Water Works to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, November 19th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $142.29.

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.