American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its position in shares of American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 363,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 7,706 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.97% of American States Water worth $28,220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of American States Water during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,254,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in shares of American States Water by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,118,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $86,935,000 after purchasing an additional 264,257 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American States Water by 107.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 381,981 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,815,000 after purchasing an additional 197,556 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position 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 valued at $27,250,000 after buying an additional 82,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in American States Water by 332.0% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 101,222 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,753,000 after buying an additional 77,792 shares in the last quarter. 75.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $74,613.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,931 shares in the company, valued at $1,226,687. The trade was a 5.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 8th. Bank of America lowered shares of American States Water from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded American States Water from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $84.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

American States Water Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE AWR traded up $0.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $80.11. The company had a trading volume of 175,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 219,988. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.56. The business's 50-day moving average is $76.91 and its 200-day moving average is $79.15. American States Water has a 52 week low of $67.34 and a 52 week high of $87.50.

American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.05. American States Water had a return on equity of 13.63% and a net margin of 20.03%. The business had revenue of $143.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.17 million. Equities analysts expect that American States Water will post 3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

American States Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.4655 per share. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. American States Water's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.68%.

About American States Water

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.