Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lessened its position in Artesian Resources Co. (NASDAQ:ARTNA) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,351 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned about 0.10% of Artesian Resources worth $327,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ARTNA. Costello Asset Management INC grew its stake in Artesian Resources by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 157,351 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,850,000 after acquiring an additional 862 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 12.2% in the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 143,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,334,000 after purchasing an additional 15,580 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Artesian Resources by 2.1% in 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Artesian Resources by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 66,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,459,000 after buying an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Artesian Resources by 169.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 16,035 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $596,000 after buying an additional 10,089 shares during the last quarter. 57.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Artesian Resources Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of ARTNA opened at $30.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $316.73 million, a PE ratio of 15.77 and a beta of 0.23. Artesian Resources Co. has a 52-week low of $29.45 and a 52-week high of $41.29.

Artesian Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.3014 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This is an increase from Artesian Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.92%. Artesian Resources’s payout ratio is 62.05%.

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.