Brookstone Capital Management Takes Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Brookstone Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 3,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 26.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,384,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,145,000 after acquiring an additional 911,443 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Unilever by 19.3% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,132,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,416,000 after purchasing an additional 668,913 shares during the period. Equity Investment Corp increased its position in shares of Unilever by 107.1% in the 1st quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 2,910,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,091,000 after buying an additional 1,505,233 shares in the last quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management increased its holdings in shares of Unilever by 0.8% in the second quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management now owns 2,767,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,169,000 after acquiring an additional 22,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp increased its stake 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Unilever Price Performance

NYSE:UL opened at $63.09 on Tuesday. Unilever PLC has a 1-year low of $46.16 and a 1-year high of $65.87. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.42.

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 dividend of $0.4773 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. 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 3.03%.

Unilever Company 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.