39,909 Shares in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Acquired by SEB Asset Management AB

SEB Asset Management AB bought a new position in shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 39,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,431,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised its position in American Water Works by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,037,823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,570,936,000 after purchasing an additional 486,090 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 3,274.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,092,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $925,605,000 after buying an additional 6,882,575 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of American Water Works by 64.2% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,039,122 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $655,025,000 after buying an additional 33,359 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,171,929 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $544,420,000 after buying an additional 275,511 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AWK shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of American Water Works from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of American Water Works in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of American Water Works from $124.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.60.

American Water Works Price Performance

AWK stock opened at $133.83 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $127.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market cap of $26.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.61. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $120.57 and a fifty-two week 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 net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 10.20%. 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 prior year, the company earned $1.05 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business 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 a positive change from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is 63.48%.

About American Water Works

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.