Banco Santander S.A. Invests $216,000 in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Banco Santander S.A. bought a new stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in American Water Works in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 155.6% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in American Water Works in the 2nd quarter worth about $46,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in American Water Works during the second quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 86.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research upgraded American Water Works to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of American Water Works from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $127.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group upgraded American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Mizuho cut American Water Works from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $131.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Water Works has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $142.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Water Works

In other news, Director Martha Clark Goss sold 710 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 36,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,268,308. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Water Works Trading Down 1.1 %

AWK opened at $137.31 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $140.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.73. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.765 per share. This represents a $3.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.59%.

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.