Confluence Investment Management LLC Purchases 391,166 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 268.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 537,138 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 391,166 shares during the quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned about 0.28% of American Water Works worth $66,868,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AWK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 969,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $141,709,000 after acquiring an additional 5,889 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 129.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 502,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,470,000 after purchasing an additional 283,579 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in shares of American Water Works in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,988,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 3.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,034,221 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $145,170,000 after purchasing an additional 29,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the third quarter valued at approximately $221,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on AWK. Wolfe Research raised American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of American Water Works in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group upgraded American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $142.29.

American Water Works Stock Performance

American Water Works stock traded up $0.15 during trading on Thursday, hitting $124.64. The stock had a trading volume of 157,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,203,349. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $132.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.57. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.34 and a 1 year high of $150.68. The stock has a market cap of $24.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 60.59%.

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.