Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Makes New Investment in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 483,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $63,625,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of American Water Works by 3,274.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,092,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $925,605,000 after acquiring an additional 6,882,575 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at about $337,004,000. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 64.2% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 6,493,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $847,361,000 after purchasing an additional 2,539,683 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in American Water Works by 383.0% during 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 valued at $361,355,000 after purchasing an additional 2,058,656 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in American Water Works in the 2nd quarter worth about $137,745,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AWK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial set a $139.00 price target on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on American Water Works from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on American Water Works from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on American Water Works from $138.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.78.

American Water Works Stock Performance

Shares of AWK opened at $138.49 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $132.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.52 billion, a PE ratio of 24.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $120.57 and a 52-week high of $147.87.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. American Water Works had a net margin of 21.35% and a return on equity of 10.20%. American Water Works’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.895 per share. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 11th. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.05%.

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.