Whittier Trust Co. Acquires 914 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,523 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 914 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $2,242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Unilever by 26.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,384,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,145,000 after acquiring an additional 911,443 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 19.3% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,132,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,416,000 after buying an additional 668,913 shares during the last quarter. Equity Investment Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,505,233 shares during the period. Saratoga Research & Investment Management grew its stake in Unilever by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management now owns 2,767,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,169,000 after buying an additional 22,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp raised its holdings in Unilever by 1,866.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,135,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,451,000 after acquiring an additional 2,027,221 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unilever Price Performance

UL opened at $61.87 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $63.77 and its 200-day moving average is $57.99. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $46.16 and a 52-week high of $65.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued 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 yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.