8,587 Shares in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) Bought by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,587 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $272,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.08% of Artesian Resources as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,146 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,459,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Artesian Resources by 2.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 110,317 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,225 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in 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. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Artesian Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 85,766 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,712,000 after buying an additional 12,396 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.37% of the company's stock.

Artesian Resources Price Performance

Artesian Resources stock traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $34.31. The stock had a trading volume of 2,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 43,041. The firm's 50 day moving average is $32.06 and its 200 day moving average is $32.84. Artesian Resources Co. has a one year low of $29.45 and a one year high of $41.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $353.50 million, a P/E ratio of 17.59 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $25.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.00 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Artesian Resources Co. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.3014 dividend. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This is a positive change from Artesian Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Artesian Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.61%.

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.