Manchester Capital Management LLC Sells 3,335 Shares of Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA)

Manchester Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) by 21.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,335 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Artesian Resources were worth $458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ARTNA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Artesian Resources by 11.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 546,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,962,000 after purchasing an additional 58,055 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Artesian Resources by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 116,761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,840,000 after buying an additional 7,305 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 55.9% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 83,970 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,481,000 after acquiring an additional 30,101 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 12,081 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Artesian Resources by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,266 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. 57.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Artesian Resources Price Performance

ARTNA stock traded up $0.64 during trading on Friday, hitting $39.37. The company had a trading volume of 6,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 61,002. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $36.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.65. Artesian Resources Co. has a fifty-two week low of $33.34 and a fifty-two week high of $49.73. The company has a market cap of $405.12 million, a P/E ratio of 22.78 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Artesian Resources (NASDAQ:ARTNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.01. Artesian Resources had a net margin of 17.25% and a return on equity of 7.57%. The firm had revenue of $24.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.00 million. Equities research analysts expect that Artesian Resources Co. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a dividend of $0.296 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This is a boost from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Artesian Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Artesian Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th.

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.