Impax Asset Management Group plc Raises Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,902,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 247,745 shares during the quarter. American Water Works makes up 3.6% of Impax Asset Management Group plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $890,422,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the second quarter worth $30,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 71.9% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on AWK. UBS Group boosted their price target on American Water Works from $124.00 to $139.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.17.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AWK traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $145.40. The company had a trading volume of 15,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,228,416. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $28.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.69. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.34 and a 52-week high of $149.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $139.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $129.55.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.93% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total value of $101,423.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,880 shares in the company, valued at $5,268,308. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.