Bank of Montreal Can Has $500,000 Stock Position in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL)

Bank of Montreal Can lessened its position in Unitil Co. (NYSE:UTL) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 503 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Unitil were worth $500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Unitil by 8,333.3% during 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. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Unitil by 32.0% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Unitil by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 709 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management increased its position in Unitil by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 6,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Unitil during the 4th quarter valued at $385,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Unitil Price Performance

Shares of UTL stock opened at $58.52 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $950.72 million, a P/E ratio of 19.97 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Unitil Co. has a 12 month low of $48.94 and a 12 month high of $63.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $56.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.50.

Unitil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. This is an increase from Unitil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. Unitil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.43%.

Unitil 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.