ING Groep NV Buys 19,131 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

ING Groep NV lifted its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 332.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,131 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $3,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in American Water Works by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,503,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,682,280,000 after purchasing an additional 214,082 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $665,163,000 after buying an additional 43,754 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,418,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $300,739,000 after acquiring an additional 125,128 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 1,131.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,321,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 1.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,120,062 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $163,798,000 after acquiring an additional 18,586 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AWK opened at $132.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.86 billion, a PE ratio of 24.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $124.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.76. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $150.68.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.09. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. Equities analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.765 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 56.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AWK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.57.

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.