Millennium Management LLC Sells 38,326 Shares of Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA)

Millennium Management LLC decreased its position in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Free Report) by 24.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 118,904 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 38,326 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned 1.15% of Artesian Resources worth $3,760,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ARTNA. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Artesian Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Artesian Resources by 703.3% during the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 2,110 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,759 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Artesian Resources in the 4th quarter valued at $272,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Artesian Resources from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th.

Artesian Resources Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of ARTNA stock traded down $0.60 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $33.73. The company had a trading volume of 27,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,217. The company has a 50 day moving average of $33.89 and a 200 day moving average of $32.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $347.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.30 and a beta of 0.36. Artesian Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $29.45 and a 1-year high of $41.29.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.18. Artesian Resources had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 18.96%. The business had revenue of $25.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.00 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Artesian Resources Co. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $0.3074 dividend. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. This is an increase from Artesian Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Artesian Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.13%.

Artesian Resources Company Profile

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.