Sovran Advisors LLC Takes $277,000 Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $277,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,503,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,682,280,000 after acquiring an additional 214,082 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in American Water Works by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,564,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $665,163,000 after purchasing an additional 43,754 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in American Water Works by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,418,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $300,739,000 after purchasing an additional 125,128 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in American Water Works by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,245,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $328,354,000 after purchasing an additional 143,914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 1,131.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,438,137 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $210,313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,321,320 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AWK. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American Water Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $133.00 to $129.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $139.38.

American Water Works Stock Up 1.4 %

AWK opened at $126.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $24.71 billion, a PE ratio of 25.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $125.38 and its 200-day moving average is $135.47. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $113.34 and a one year high of $150.68.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is currently 60.59%.

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.