3,998 Shares in American States Water (NYSE:AWR) Purchased by Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in American States Water (NYSE:AWR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,998 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $311,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in American States Water during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,254,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in American States Water by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,118,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $86,935,000 after buying an additional 264,257 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in American States Water by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 484,470 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,653,000 after buying an additional 102,489 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in American States Water by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 350,616 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,250,000 after buying an additional 82,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in American States Water by 332.0% during 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.24% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on AWR shares. Bank of America lowered American States Water from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded American States Water from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded American States Water from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th.

American States Water Price Performance

Shares of AWR stock traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $80.18. The company had a trading volume of 212,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 217,724. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $78.12 and a 200-day moving average of $78.44. The company has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29, a PEG ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.64. American States Water has a 12-month low of $69.46 and a 12-month high of $87.50.

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

American States Water Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.4655 dividend. This represents a $1.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. American States Water's payout ratio is currently 57.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Diana M. Bonta sold 969 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 15,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,226,687. This represents a 5.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

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.