53,666 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Acquired by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 53,666 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,948,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jericho Financial LLP bought a new stake in American Water Works during the second quarter worth $3,506,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the 2nd quarter valued at $11,899,000. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,092,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in American Water Works by 62.8% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 31,156 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,034,000 after acquiring an additional 12,022 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in American Water Works by 570.4% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 152,829 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,109,000 after acquiring an additional 130,031 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. Huntington downgraded shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Mizuho set a $149.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Water Works has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $139.86.

American Water Works Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $152.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.40 billion, a PE ratio of 26.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $136.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $132.77. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.57 and a 1 year high of $153.69.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.14% and a net margin of 21.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be given a $0.8950 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is currently 62.05%.

American Water Works Company Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc is a public water and wastewater utility that provides essential services to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers. Through its regulated businesses, the company supplies drinking water, collects and treats wastewater, and manages related infrastructure, including treatment plants, pipelines, storage facilities and customer service systems.

Founded in 1886, American Water has grown into one of the largest water and wastewater service providers in the United States.