American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) Shares Purchased by Mirova

Mirova boosted its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 39.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,140 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,967 shares during the quarter. American Water Works accounts for about 1.7% of Mirova’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Mirova’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $9,603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth about $294,524,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 120.7% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,174,395 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $395,180,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736,258 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at $71,120,000. Amundi grew its position in American Water Works by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,490,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $553,687,000 after purchasing an additional 477,411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in American Water Works by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,142,465 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $391,205,000 after purchasing an additional 414,568 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on AWK shares. StockNews.com upgraded American Water Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Water Works has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.86.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK stock opened at $148.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.52, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.68. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $117.67 and a one year high of $155.50. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $140.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.29.

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

American Water Works Company 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.