&Partners Grows Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

&Partners boosted its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 231.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,559 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,444 shares during the period. &Partners’ holdings in Unilever were worth $1,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UL. Tevis Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 80,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,447,000 after buying an additional 2,175 shares in the last quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Unilever by 5.6% in the second quarter. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC now owns 11,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC lifted its position in shares of Unilever by 3.9% in the second quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 65,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,588,000 after acquiring an additional 2,429 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Unilever during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Keystone Financial Services boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 8.7% during the second quarter. Keystone Financial Services now owns 10,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Stock Performance

NYSE:UL opened at $63.59 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $58.49 and its 200 day moving average is $53.66. Unilever PLC has a fifty-two week low of $46.16 and a fifty-two week high of $63.62.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a $0.4773 dividend. This represents a $1.91 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $47.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Unilever from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Unilever from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Unilever to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Unilever from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.75.

About Unilever

Unilever PLC operates as a fast-moving consumer goods company in the Asia Pacific, Africa, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through five segments: Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, Nutrition, and Ice Cream. The Beauty & Wellbeing segment engages in the sale of hair care products, such as shampoo, conditioner, and styling; skin care products including face, hand, and body moisturizer; and prestige beauty and health & wellbeing products consist of the vitamins, minerals, and supplements.