Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 144.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 119,412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 70,577 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $15,761,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HCR Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 27,351 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,610,000 after acquiring an additional 1,478 shares in the last quarter. Team Hewins LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $260,000. LWS Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth approximately $484,000. SageView Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 38.4% during the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,914 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $985,000 after buying an additional 2,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AXS Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of American Water Works by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. AXS Investments LLC now owns 9,476 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the period. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK stock opened at $128.23 on Monday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.34 and a 52 week high of $151.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $123.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $125.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.98 billion, a PE ratio of 26.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by ($0.03). American Water Works had a net margin of 22.27% and a return on equity of 9.74%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $962.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share. American Water Works’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.765 per share. This is a positive change from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AWK shares. StockNews.com cut shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of American Water Works from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut shares of American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $160.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Melanie M. Kennedy sold 843 shares of American Water Works stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.59, for a total transaction of $100,814.37. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,942,141.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.