Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Raises Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

by · The Markets Daily

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd boosted its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK – Free Report) by 51.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,926 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $6,824,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AWK. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in American Water Works by 52.6% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 19,039 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,326,000 after purchasing an additional 6,562 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in American Water Works by 20.1% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 14,082 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,744,000 after purchasing an additional 2,358 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in American Water Works by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 420,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,446,000 after purchasing an additional 29,100 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in American Water Works by 33.4% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 31,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,898,000 after purchasing an additional 7,988 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in American Water Works by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 5,853 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $715,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of AWK stock opened at $137.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $26.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.25, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.70. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $113.34 and a 1-year high of $150.68.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is currently 60.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Mizuho downgraded American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $131.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on American Water Works in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Finally, 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $142.29.

Get Our Latest Analysis on AWK

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

In other news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of American Water Works stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.85, for a total transaction of $101,423.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,880 shares in the company, valued at $5,268,308. The trade was a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Water Works Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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