Mirova US LLC Sells 45,340 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Mirova US LLC lessened its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,559,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 45,340 shares during the quarter. American Water Works accounts for 2.3% of Mirova US LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Mirova US LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $194,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AWK. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in American Water Works by 120.7% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,174,395 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $395,180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,258 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 4,227.0% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 711,927 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 695,474 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter worth $71,120,000. Amundi grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,490,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $553,687,000 after acquiring an additional 477,411 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Water Works by 268.0% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 537,138 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $66,868,000 after acquiring an additional 391,166 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AWK. UBS Group upgraded American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded American Water Works from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.86.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK opened at $144.86 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $129.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.69. 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 52-week low of $113.34 and a 52-week high of $152.07.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. Research analysts forecast that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.