Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 17,119 Shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 172,212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 17,119 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.06% of Unitil worth $9,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UTL. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Unitil during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,827,000. Wernau Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Unitil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,673,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Unitil by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 723,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,835,000 after acquiring an additional 41,511 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Unitil during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,400,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in shares of Unitil by 474.4% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 27,975 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,695,000 after acquiring an additional 23,105 shares in the last quarter. 76.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Unitil Price Performance

NYSE:UTL opened at $55.02 on Friday. Unitil Co. has a 1-year low of $47.40 and a 1-year high of $63.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $893.87 million, a PE ratio of 18.78 and a beta of 0.60.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 13th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. This is a boost from Unitil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $55.00 target price 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.