Millennium Management LLC Purchases 45,708 Shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR)

Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 16.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 329,740 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 45,708 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.88% of American States Water worth $25,627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AWR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in American States Water during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,254,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in American States Water by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,118,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $86,935,000 after buying an additional 264,257 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in American States Water by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 484,470 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,653,000 after buying an additional 102,489 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 350,616 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,250,000 after purchasing an additional 82,951 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 332.0% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 101,222 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,753,000 after purchasing an additional 77,792 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at American States Water

In other American States Water news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $74,613.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,226,687. This trade represents a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American States Water Price Performance

Shares of American States Water stock traded up $0.27 on Friday, hitting $78.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 166,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 217,189. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $78.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. American States Water has a 52-week low of $69.46 and a 52-week high of $87.50. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.64.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70. American States Water had a net margin of 20.03% and a return on equity of 13.63%. The company had revenue of $148.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $142.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.4655 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. American States Water's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America cut shares of American States Water from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 8th.

American States Water Profile

American States Water Company, through its subsidiaries, provides water and electric services to residential, commercial, industrial, and other customers in the United States. It operates through three segments: Water, Electric, and Contracted Services. The company purchases, produces, distributes, and sells water, as well as distributes electricity.