Clarius Group LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Clarius Group LLC lowered its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 21.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,286 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,466 shares during the quarter. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UL. Fiera Capital Corp increased its position in Unilever by 1,866.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,135,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,451,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027,221 shares in the last quarter. Equity Investment Corp increased its position in Unilever by 107.1% during the 1st quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 2,910,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,091,000 after purchasing an additional 1,505,233 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Unilever by 249.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,748,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,204,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248,136 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in Unilever by 598.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,301,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,992 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Unilever by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,494,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,672,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,417 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on UL shares. TD Cowen started coverage on Unilever in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group upgraded Unilever to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $47.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

Unilever Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE UL opened at $62.79 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a 1-year low of $46.16 and a 1-year high of $65.87. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.28.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.4773 dividend. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.91 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th.

Unilever Profile

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.