Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Raises Stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 108,821 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,381 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $14,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 2.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,227,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,650,543,000 after buying an additional 597,916 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,551,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,607,886,000 after buying an additional 120,870 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 3.7% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,779,526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $386,882,000 after buying an additional 98,042 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,639,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $344,462,000 after buying an additional 22,827 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in American Water Works by 383.0% during the third 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. 86.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More American Water Works News

Here are the key news stories impacting American Water Works this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board raised the quarterly cash dividend by 8.2% to $0.895/share, a show of confidence in cash flow and a support to income investors. American Water Announces Dividend Increase
• Positive Sentiment: Company expects the proposed merger with Essential Utilities to close by end of Q1 2027 and is targeting ~8% EPS growth in 2026 — a potential growth and scale catalyst if the deal proceeds as planned. American Water expects Essential merger close by end of Q1 2027 while targeting 8% EPS growth in 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Management affirmed FY‑2026 EPS guidance of $6.02–$6.12 (near consensus) and reiterated long‑term targets — this reduces surprise risk but offers limited immediate upside. AMERICAN WATER REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2026 RESULTS ON TRACK; AFFIRMS 2026 EPS GUIDANCE AND LONG‑TERM TARGETS
• Neutral Sentiment: Issued $700M of 5.200% senior notes due 2036 — increases liquidity to fund operations/transactions but raises long‑term leverage. AMERICAN WATER REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2026 RESULTS ON TRACK; AFFIRMS 2026 EPS GUIDANCE AND LONG‑TERM TARGETS
• Neutral Sentiment: Company philanthropic grants announced for Illinois — positive for community relations but immaterial to near‑term financials. Illinois American Water Recognizes American Water Charitable Foundation 2026 Water and Environment Grantees
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 results missed expectations: adjusted EPS $1.01 vs. consensus ~$1.10 and revenue $1.21B vs. ~$1.28B; transaction costs tied to the proposed Essential merger and other items pressured GAAP results. The miss is the primary near‑term driver of the stock weakness. American Water Works Q1 Earnings Lag Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y

American Water Works Trading Down 2.6%

NYSE AWK opened at $128.60 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a one year low of $121.28 and a one year high of $150.51. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $135.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $132.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.74.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last posted 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 net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 10.25%. The business 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 business posted $1.05 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a $0.895 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. This is a positive change from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 58.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AWK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded American Water Works from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $117.00 to $139.00 in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 target price on American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial initiated coverage on American Water Works in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set a “hold” rating and a $137.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.20.

American Water Works Company 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.