Advisors Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. cut its position in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 12.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,886 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Unitil were worth $1,188,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meritage Portfolio Management increased its stake in Unitil by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 5,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Unitil by 2.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 81,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Unitil by 1.9% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 75,992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,604,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC raised its stake in Unitil by 276.9% during the 3rd quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 31,577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,884,000 after purchasing an additional 23,200 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Unitil in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $292,000. 76.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Unitil Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of UTL opened at $60.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $981.60 million, a P/E ratio of 20.69 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Unitil Co. has a 1 year low of $45.26 and a 1 year high of $63.52. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.75.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. Unitil’s payout ratio is 58.02%.

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.