Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Trims Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 4.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 417,648 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 19,644 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.21% of American Water Works worth $56,838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 3,274.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,092,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $925,605,000 after purchasing an additional 6,882,575 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works during the 4th quarter valued at $337,004,000. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 64.2% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 6,493,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $847,361,000 after buying an additional 2,539,683 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in American Water Works by 383.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,596,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $361,355,000 after buying an additional 2,058,656 shares during the period. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in American Water Works by 38.0% in the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,386,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $311,487,000 after buying an additional 657,849 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AWK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, April 26th. UBS Group upped their price objective on American Water Works from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Bank of America decreased their target price on American Water Works from $147.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on American Water Works from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.00.

American Water Works Price Performance

AWK traded up $0.23 during trading on Friday, hitting $130.78. 1,679,113 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,328,022. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $25.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $130.59. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.57 and a 1 year high of $147.87.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.09). American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 21.17%.The company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th were given a $0.895 dividend. This is an increase from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.48%.

American Water Works Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc (NYSE: AWK) is a publicly traded utility company that provides water and wastewater services in the United States. Its core business is the operation, management and maintenance of regulated water and wastewater systems that deliver potable water, collect and treat wastewater, and provide related customer services to residential, commercial and industrial customers as well as municipalities. The company’s operations include water treatment and distribution, wastewater collection and treatment, meter reading and billing, emergency repairs, and long-term infrastructure planning and capital project execution.

In addition to its regulated utility operations, American Water offers complementary nonregulated services and solutions that support system reliability and customer needs.