American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK – Free Report) by 57.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 251,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 339,653 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $35,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the second quarter worth $344,645,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 16.8% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,442,004 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $478,817,000 after acquiring an additional 494,868 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position in American Water Works by 81.8% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,043,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $145,217,000 after acquiring an additional 469,641 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Water Works by 1.5% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,629,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,565,269,000 after purchasing an additional 380,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vestor Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 31,955.0% in the second quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 320,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,592,000 after purchasing an additional 319,550 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Trading Up 1.1%

AWK opened at $125.66 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $121.39 and a one year high of $155.50. The company has a market cap of $24.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.08, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.42. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $130.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.57.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.8275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 10th. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AWK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of American Water Works from $142.00 to $126.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Mizuho set a $145.00 price objective on American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. UBS Group set a $149.00 target price on American Water Works in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Bank of America raised American Water Works from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $117.00 to $139.00 in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $114.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.89.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on AWK

About American Water Works

(Free Report)

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.

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