Handelsbanken Fonder AB Buys 6,569 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,569 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $12,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 110.8% during the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 79.2% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Key Financial Inc boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 266.7% during the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Price Performance

AWK opened at $119.86 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $119.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a market cap of $23.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.63. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $113.34 and a 12-month high of $152.99.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 22.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at American Water Works

In other news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 843 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.59, for a total value of $100,814.37. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,942,141.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lowered American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com downgraded American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd.

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.