Boston Common Asset Management LLC Cuts Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 188,777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,973 shares during the quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.10% of American Water Works worth $23,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 1,131.1% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,438,137 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $210,313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,321,320 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in American Water Works by 4,227.0% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 711,927 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 695,474 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 14,944.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 537,987 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $786,750,000 after acquiring an additional 534,411 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 268.0% in the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 537,138 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $66,868,000 after acquiring an additional 391,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 631.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 445,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,192,000 after acquiring an additional 384,836 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AWK shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised American Water Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $133.00 to $129.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of American Water Works in a report on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Mizuho cut shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.00.

American Water Works Price Performance

NYSE AWK traded up $0.25 on Friday, hitting $126.61. The stock had a trading volume of 151,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 930,691. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $129.76 and a 200-day moving average of $137.04. The company has a market capitalization of $24.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.58. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.34 and a 52-week high of $150.68.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 60.59%.

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.