Blair William & Co. IL Trims Stock Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Blair William & Co. IL lowered its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 3.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 123,857 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,092 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Unilever were worth $6,811,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Red Tortoise LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unilever during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Unilever by 423.8% during the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Unilever during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unilever during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unilever during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UL has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 3rd. Redburn Atlantic raised Unilever from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Unilever in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Bank of America upgraded shares of Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Unilever to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Unilever currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.75.

Unilever Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE UL opened at $64.41 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $46.16 and a 52 week high of $65.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.53 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.48.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.4773 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. This is an increase from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Unilever’s payout ratio is presently 55.10%.

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.