Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Purchases Shares of 31,000 American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Key Points

• Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co initiated a new position in American Water Works, buying 31,000 shares valued at about $4.05 million in the fourth quarter.
• Institutional ownership in AWK remains very high at 86.58%, with several other large investors recently increasing their stakes, including UBS AM, Impax, and Vanguard.
• American Water Works recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.895 per share, but its latest earnings missed estimates, and analysts currently rate the stock a Hold with a consensus price target of $138.11.

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co purchased a new stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 31,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,046,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AWK. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position 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 worth $361,355,000 after buying an additional 2,058,656 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in American Water Works by 38.0% during 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 during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in American Water Works by 2.3% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in American Water Works by 81.8% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,043,899 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $145,217,000 after buying an additional 469,641 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in American Water Works during the 3rd quarter worth $45,769,000. Institutional investors own 86.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AWK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of American Water Works from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Water Works from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, April 26th. UBS Group raised shares of American Water Works from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $137.00 to $140.00 in a report on Friday. Bank of America decreased their price target on American Water Works from $147.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on American Water Works from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.11.

American Water Works Stock Performance

American Water Works stock opened at $123.29 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $121.28 and a 12-month high of $147.87. 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 business's 50-day moving average price is $130.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.08. The stock has a market cap of $24.08 billion, a PE ratio of 21.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.64.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. The business's 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. As a group, analysts expect 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 will be paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.895 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 12th. This is a boost 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 2.9%. American Water Works's payout ratio is presently 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.

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