Perpetual Ltd Boosts Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Perpetual Ltd boosted its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 104,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,390 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $12,967,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,414,000 after buying an additional 1,264 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in American Water Works by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 768 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services raised its position in American Water Works by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 13,439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,673,000 after purchasing an additional 1,603 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in American Water Works by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,857 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth about $419,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:AWK opened at $126.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a fifty day moving average of $129.44 and a 200 day moving average of $137.08. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.34 and a 52 week high of $150.68.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AWK. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on American Water Works in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho downgraded shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group raised shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American Water Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $133.00 to $129.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.00.

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.