Artesian Resources Corporation $ARTNA Shares Bought by T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Artesian Resources Corporation by 4.7%, acquiring an additional 41,357 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 9.00% valued at $30.3 million.
• Several other institutional investors have also significantly adjusted their positions in Artesian Resources, with Wells Fargo boosting its stake by 100.2% and Aquatic Capital Management increasing theirs by 703.3%.
• Artesian Resources announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3074 per share, yielding 3.6% annually, with a payout ratio of 56.68%.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Artesian Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 927,232 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 41,357 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 9.00% of Artesian Resources worth $30,275,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 9.7% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 18,870 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 5.9% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 92,840 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,031,000 after purchasing an additional 5,134 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 16.6% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 53,623 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,751,000 after purchasing an additional 7,632 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 33.4% in the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 30,145 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $984,000 after purchasing an additional 7,547 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Artesian Resources in the first quarter valued at about $209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.37% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP John M. Thaeder sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.49, for a total transaction of $33,490.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 21,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $723,116.08. This represents a 4.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 20.59% of the company's stock.

Artesian Resources Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ ARTNA traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $33.33. 2,236 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 36,192. The firm has a market capitalization of $343.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.87. Artesian Resources Corporation has a 52-week low of $29.45 and a 52-week high of $38.94. The company's 50-day moving average is $33.43 and its 200-day moving average is $33.23.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.05. Artesian Resources had a return on equity of 9.55% and a net margin of 20.84%.The business had revenue of $28.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $29.00 million. Analysts expect that Artesian Resources Corporation will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Artesian Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.3074 per share. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Artesian Resources's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.68%.

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.