KBC Group NV Sells 37,547 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

KBC Group NV lessened its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 471,138 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 37,547 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.24% of American Water Works worth $58,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 21.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 31,283 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,023,000 after purchasing an additional 5,564 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the second quarter worth $1,610,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 12.0% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 125,724 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $16,239,000 after purchasing an additional 13,457 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 6.8% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 12,278 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,586,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 19.3% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 34,951 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,514,000 after purchasing an additional 5,657 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AWK shares. Mizuho lowered American Water Works from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on American Water Works in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised American Water Works from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $133.00 to $129.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded American Water Works from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Three 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $139.38.

American Water Works Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of AWK stock traded down $3.48 on Tuesday, reaching $126.47. 1,417,875 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,124,113. The stock has a market cap of $24.65 billion, a PE ratio of 25.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.71. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $113.34 and a one year high of $150.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $128.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.81.

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 paid a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.