Boston Partners Sells 6,247 Shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Boston Partners decreased its position in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 38.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,906 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,247 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners’ holdings in Unitil were worth $537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UTL. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Unitil by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 12,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Unitil by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 9,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Unitil by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 15,398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $834,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Unitil by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 31,181 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,690,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P raised its stake in shares of Unitil by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 34,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,113,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Unitil Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UTL opened at $55.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $55.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.97. Unitil Co. has a one year low of $47.40 and a one year high of $63.52. The firm has a market cap of $893.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78 and a beta of 0.60.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. This is a positive change from Unitil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Unitil in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

About Unitil

Unitil Corporation, a public utility holding company, engages in the distribution of electricity and natural gas. It operates through two segments, Utility Electric Operations, Utility Gas Operations. The company distributes electricity in the southeastern seacoast and state capital regions of New Hampshire, and the greater Fitchburg area of north central Massachusetts; and distributes natural gas in southeastern New Hampshire and portions of southern and central Maine, including the city of Portland and the Lewiston-Auburn area, as well as electricity and natural gas in the greater Fitchburg area of north central Massachusetts.