Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 129.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 502,391 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 283,579 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.26% of American Water Works worth $73,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 2.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,648,326 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,012,272,000 after acquiring an additional 624,977 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake 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 worth $890,422,000 after purchasing an additional 247,745 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 6.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Mirova US LLC raised its position in shares of American Water Works by 2.1% in the second quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 1,588,109 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $205,120,000 after buying an additional 32,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its position 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 valued at $189,177,000 after buying an additional 1,453,334 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AWK traded up $3.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $136.09. 1,076,188 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 963,091. The stock has a market cap of $26.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.70. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.34 and a fifty-two week high of $150.68. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $142.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. American Water Works's payout ratio is presently 60.59%.

Insider Activity at American Water Works

In related news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total transaction of $101,423.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,880 shares in the company, valued at $5,268,308. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AWK has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of American Water Works from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Mizuho cut American Water Works from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on American Water Works in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $140.00.

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.