American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Holdings Reduced by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG cut its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 30.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,059 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 18,352 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in American Water Works were worth $5,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,107,225 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,125,598,000 after purchasing an additional 217,582 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,671,050 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $579,981,000 after purchasing an additional 106,857 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,490,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $553,687,000 after acquiring an additional 477,411 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 120.7% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,174,395 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $395,180,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in American Water Works by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,142,465 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $391,205,000 after purchasing an additional 414,568 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AWK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Water Works from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Thursday. Barclays assumed coverage on American Water Works in a report on Tuesday. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Water Works currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $142.00.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of American Water Works stock traded down $2.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $143.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,342,056 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,224,618. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.39. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $118.74 and a one year high of $155.50. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $141.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.51. The stock has a market cap of $28.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.68.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. As a group, analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.