American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Bought by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) by 55.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,582 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 4,126 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,442,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,678 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $830,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in American Water Works by 23.2% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 12,731 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,862,000 after buying an additional 2,401 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 1.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 376,348 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $55,037,000 after acquiring an additional 3,560 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.2% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 63,136 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,233,000 after acquiring an additional 1,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the third quarter worth about $716,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE AWK traded up $1.95 on Friday, reaching $148.35. 946,068 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,225,735. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $117.67 and a fifty-two week high of $155.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $28.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $140.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.22.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.11 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. Equities research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on AWK shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Water Works from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $141.86.

About American Water Works

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.