QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $927,000 Stock Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 682 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $927,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 1,131.1% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,438,137 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $210,313,000 after acquiring an additional 1,321,320 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 4,227.0% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 711,927 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 695,474 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 268.0% in the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 537,138 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $66,868,000 after purchasing an additional 391,166 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new position in shares of American Water Works in the third quarter valued at about $43,872,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 129.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 502,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,470,000 after buying an additional 283,579 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of AWK stock opened at $139.48 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $27.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.34 and a 1 year high of $150.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $126.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.36.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. On average, research analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.765 dividend. This represents a $3.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on AWK shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $151.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on American Water Works from $129.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.57.

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.