Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $26.96 Million Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 26.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 189,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,054 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.10% of American Water Works worth $26,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AWK. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in American Water Works by 98,401.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 4,079,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $582,408,000 after purchasing an additional 4,075,777 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the first quarter valued at approximately $308,215,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $281,724,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in American Water Works by 64,405.1% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,838,394 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $280,208,000 after buying an additional 1,835,544 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in American Water Works by 5,072.0% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,014,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $148,652,000 after acquiring an additional 995,321 shares during the last quarter. 84.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AWK. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $126.00 in a report on Monday, October 9th. StockNews.com started coverage on American Water Works in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Mizuho upped their target price on American Water Works from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $169.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, September 14th.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of AWK opened at $130.67 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $25.44 billion, a PE ratio of 27.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.63. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.25 and a 52-week high of $162.59. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $125.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.03.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 9.99%. American Water Works’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 14th will be paid a $0.7075 dividend. This represents a $2.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael Marberry purchased 3,786 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $130.20 per share, for a total transaction of $492,937.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $971,161.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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 1,600 communities in 14 states serving approximately 3.4 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.