Boston Partners Has $537,000 Position in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Boston Partners decreased its stake in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL - Free Report) by 38.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,906 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,247 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned 0.06% of Unitil worth $537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Unitil by 139.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 32,834 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,989,000 after purchasing an additional 19,134 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in Unitil by 8,333.3% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,024 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in Unitil by 204.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 32,257 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,954,000 after buying an additional 21,652 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Unitil by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 381,658 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $23,126,000 after buying an additional 11,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Unitil in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,400,000. Institutional investors own 76.76% of the company's stock.

Unitil Trading Up 1.6 %

Unitil stock traded up $0.87 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $56.02. 46,407 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 57,721. Unitil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $47.40 and a fifty-two week high of $63.52. The firm's 50 day moving average is $55.22 and its 200-day moving average is $56.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $910.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.12 and a beta of 0.60.

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Unitil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a boost from Unitil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Unitil's payout ratio is presently 61.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Unitil in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th.

Unitil Company Profile

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.