J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Trims Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG decreased its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 19.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 25,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,308 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $3,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in American Water Works in the 2nd quarter worth $344,645,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 16.8% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,442,004 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $478,817,000 after buying an additional 494,868 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 928.1% during the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 531,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,904,000 after buying an additional 479,586 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in American Water Works by 81.8% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,043,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $145,217,000 after buying an additional 469,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 1.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,629,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,565,269,000 after buying an additional 380,870 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AWK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their target price on American Water Works from $134.00 to $122.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Mizuho set a $145.00 price target on American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded American Water Works from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $114.00 to $124.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Bank of America raised American Water Works from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $139.00 in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.89.

American Water Works Stock Down 0.2%

AWK stock opened at $130.43 on Wednesday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $121.39 and a 1-year high of $155.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $130.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.04. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.93% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The business had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.80 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be issued a $0.8275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $3.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.17%.

About American Water Works

American Water Works Company, Inc (NYSE: AWK) is a publicly traded utility company that provides water and wastewater services in the United States. Its core business is the operation, management and maintenance of regulated water and wastewater systems that deliver potable water, collect and treat wastewater, and provide related customer services to residential, commercial and industrial customers as well as municipalities. The company’s operations include water treatment and distribution, wastewater collection and treatment, meter reading and billing, emergency repairs, and long-term infrastructure planning and capital project execution.

In addition to its regulated utility operations, American Water offers complementary nonregulated services and solutions that support system reliability and customer needs.