Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 112,545 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 22.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 389,846 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 112,545 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.20% of American Water Works worth $48,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew 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 valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 31.7% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AWK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group raised American Water Works from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of American Water Works from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $140.57.

American Water Works Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of American Water Works stock traded up $3.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $132.63. 2,116,785 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,274,988. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $150.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.83. 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 (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.09. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.33%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.11 billion. Research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.7 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. American Water Works's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.77%.

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.