Empirical Asset Management LLC Makes New $1.47 Million Investment in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 11,769 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,465,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AWK. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in American Water Works during the second quarter worth $357,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 10.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 718,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $92,761,000 after buying an additional 70,205 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Water Works by 49.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 28,485 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,658,000 after buying an additional 9,464 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 11,516 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,487,000 after buying an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the 2nd quarter valued at about $875,000. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of AWK opened at $126.69 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $129.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.97. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.34 and a twelve month high of $150.68.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AWK. UBS Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on American Water Works in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American Water Works from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $133.00 to $129.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Mizuho downgraded American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.00.

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.