Naviter Wealth LLC Raises Stock Position in Unilever PLC $UL

Naviter Wealth LLC raised its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 3.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,671 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,702 shares during the period. Naviter Wealth LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $3,589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Unilever in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Brentview Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Unilever in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Unilever by 209.0% in the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 618 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new position in Unilever in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA purchased a new position in Unilever in the second quarter valued at about $55,000. 9.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on UL. Zacks Research raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. Finally, CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Unilever in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.00.

Unilever Price Performance

UL stock opened at $60.11 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.49 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 0.40. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $54.32 and a 12 month high of $65.66.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.5175 dividend. This represents a $2.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.31%.

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.