American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK Shares Sold by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. decreased its stake in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 22.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,789,454 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 503,639 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.92% of American Water Works worth $233,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,219,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $290,729,000 after purchasing an additional 47,977 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 5.6% in the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 85,976 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,967,000 after purchasing an additional 4,553 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 489,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,863,000 after purchasing an additional 47,352 shares during the period. TSP Capital Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,559,000. Finally, Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 80.1% in the third quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 281,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,133,000 after purchasing an additional 125,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

American Water Works Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE AWK opened at $124.63 on Friday. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.57 and a 1 year high of $147.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $129.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.83. The firm has a market cap of $24.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.37.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last announced 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 return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 21.17%.The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. The firm’s revenue 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 6.09 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.895 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. This is a positive change from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. American Water Works’s payout ratio is presently 63.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AWK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $137.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 price objective on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of American Water Works from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.11.

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.