Advocate Group LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Unilever PLC $UL

Key Points

• Advocate Group LLC reduced its stake in Unilever PLC by 4.4% in Q2, holding 117,742 shares valued at approximately $7.2 million after selling 5,377 shares.
• Unilever recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5175 per share, up from the previous $0.52, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 3.4%.
• Equities analysts have a Moderate Buy rating on Unilever, with an average target price of $73.00, reflecting positive sentiment despite mixed individual ratings.

Advocate Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 4.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 117,742 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,377 shares during the period. Advocate Group LLC's holdings in Unilever were worth $7,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its holdings in Unilever by 1.4% during the first quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 11,497 shares of the company's stock worth $685,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC raised its position in Unilever by 1.9% during the second quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 8,700 shares of the company's stock worth $532,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Unilever by 1.0% during the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 16,246 shares of the company's stock worth $967,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in Unilever by 0.8% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 21,492 shares of the company's stock worth $1,280,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management raised its position in Unilever by 0.4% during the first quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 39,953 shares of the company's stock worth $2,379,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Unilever Price Performance

NYSE:UL opened at $60.47 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.63. The firm has a market cap of $148.36 billion, a PE ratio of 17.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 0.40. Unilever PLC has a 1-year low of $54.32 and a 1-year high of $65.66.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The business 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 yield of 3.4%. This is a positive change from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Unilever's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.

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