Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Grows Position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,766 shares during the quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $1,990,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Water Works by 155.6% in the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in American Water Works by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in American Water Works in the third quarter worth about $51,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

American Water Works Stock Performance

AWK opened at $132.63 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.34 and a 52-week high of $150.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $25.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $124.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.76.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 10.29%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.765 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.