Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Invests $37.31 Million in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought 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 Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 299,726 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $37,313,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ABLE Financial Group LLC increased its stake in American Water Works by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 8,902 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,895 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at $1,015,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its stake in American Water Works by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in American Water Works by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 12,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,512,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE:AWK opened at $143.09 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $144.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.36. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.74 and a 1-year high of $155.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $27.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.73.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.01). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.8275 per share. This is a boost from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is presently 60.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AWK shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on American Water Works from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays started coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an “underweight” rating and a $138.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of American Water Works from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Water Works has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.22.

American Water Works Profile

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.