Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Acquires 53,666 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 53,666 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,948,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in American Water Works in the 3rd quarter worth about $728,000. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Water Works in the 3rd quarter valued at about $306,000. Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in American Water Works by 88.2% in the 3rd quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $842,000 after acquiring an additional 3,047 shares during the period. Choreo LLC lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 7.7% during the third quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 7,092 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $918,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in American Water Works by 1.0% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 18,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,427,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lowered shares of American Water Works from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of American Water Works from $130.00 to $127.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Water Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $139.86.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK opened at $152.69 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $136.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $132.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.39. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $120.57 and a 52-week high of $153.69.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.04 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.14% and a net margin of 21.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. Research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be issued a $0.8950 dividend. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.05%.

American Water Works Company Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc is a public water and wastewater utility that provides essential services to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers. Through its regulated businesses, the company supplies drinking water, collects and treats wastewater, and manages related infrastructure, including treatment plants, pipelines, storage facilities and customer service systems.

Founded in 1886, American Water has grown into one of the largest water and wastewater service providers in the United States.