Kanawha Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in Unilever PLC $UL

Kanawha Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,247 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,910 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $2,768,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Unilever by 41.2% in the second quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 601,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,808,000 after buying an additional 175,479 shares during the period. Easterly Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Unilever during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,779,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Unilever by 4.1% during the second quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 9,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Unilever by 1.3% during the second quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 135,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE increased its stake in shares of Unilever by 1.1% during the second quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 64,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,925,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Unilever Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of UL opened at $63.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $155.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $61.51 and a 200 day moving average of $61.69. Unilever PLC has a twelve month low of $54.32 and a twelve month high of $65.66.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.5175 per share. This represents a $2.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is an increase from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Unilever’s payout ratio is 59.31%.

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.