Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Position Lowered by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Free Report) by 17.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 87,706 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 18,414 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.85% of Artesian Resources worth $2,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ARTNA. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Artesian Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in Artesian Resources by 100.2% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,514 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 1,759 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Artesian Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $272,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Artesian Resources by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 17,195 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $544,000 after acquiring an additional 3,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 169.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,035 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 10,089 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.37% of the company's stock.

Artesian Resources Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of ARTNA stock traded up $0.43 on Wednesday, hitting $35.29. The stock had a trading volume of 12,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 49,858. The stock's 50 day moving average is $32.44 and its 200-day moving average is $32.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $363.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.10 and a beta of 0.27. Artesian Resources Co. has a 52-week low of $29.45 and a 52-week high of $41.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The company had revenue of $25.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $25.00 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Artesian Resources Co. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.3014 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This is an increase from Artesian Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. Artesian Resources's payout ratio is currently 60.61%.

About Artesian Resources

Artesian Resources Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides water, wastewater, and other services in Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. The company distributes and sells water to residential, commercial, industrial, governmental, municipal, and utility customers, as well as for public and private fire protection in the states of Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania; and offers wastewater collection, treatment infrastructure, and wastewater services to customers in Delaware.