HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 3,123 Shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its position in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 25,285 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,123 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Unitil were worth $1,543,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Unitil by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,758 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Unitil by 1.6% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,419 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its stake in Unitil by 9.1% during the third quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 5,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its holdings in Unitil by 1.7% during the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 34,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,113,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Unitil by 10.0% during the second quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. 76.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Unitil Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of UTL opened at $56.83 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $920.08 million, a PE ratio of 19.40 and a beta of 0.62. Unitil Co. has a 1 year low of $45.26 and a 1 year high of $63.52.

Unitil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Unitil’s payout ratio is presently 58.02%.

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.