Van ECK Associates Corp Has $7.68 Million Stock Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 4.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 54,021 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,269 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $7,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norden Group LLC increased its stake in American Water Works by 67.4% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 2,932 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 61.9% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP boosted its stake in American Water Works by 202.2% in the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 46,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,699,000 after buying an additional 31,203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in American Water Works by 3.6% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 6,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $825,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AWK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Mizuho cut American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on American Water Works in a report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Water Works has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.00.

American Water Works Price Performance

American Water Works stock opened at $133.61 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $26.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $142.39 and its 200 day moving average is $136.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.53. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $113.34 and a one year high of $150.68.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.59%.

Insider Transactions at American Water Works

In other American Water Works news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total transaction of $101,423.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 36,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,268,308. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.