Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $61.75.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UL. Bank of America raised shares of Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Unilever from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 3rd. UBS Group raised shares of Unilever to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Unilever from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unilever

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Unilever by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,494,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,672,275,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,417 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Unilever by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,830,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $525,051,000 after acquiring an additional 951,446 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 6,548,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,459,000 after buying an additional 329,705 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 26.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,384,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,145,000 after buying an additional 911,443 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 19.3% during the first 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 period. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unilever Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:UL opened at $65.06 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.17. Unilever has a one year low of $46.16 and a one year high of $65.86.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This is an increase from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%.

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.