LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Lowers Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. decreased its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 33.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,200 shares during the quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Providence First Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 155.6% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AWK shares. UBS Group upgraded American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on American Water Works from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.57.

American Water Works Stock Performance

American Water Works stock opened at $139.48 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $126.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.19 billion, a PE ratio of 25.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.39. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $113.34 and a one year high of $150.68.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.09. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 56.77%.

About American Water Works

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.