Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Lowers Holdings in Unilever PLC $UL

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC reduced its holdings in Unilever PLC by 20.5%, selling 4,316 shares in the first quarter, leaving it with a total of 16,751 shares valued at $998,000.
• Multiple hedge funds have increased their positions in Unilever, with Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raising its holdings by 75.2%, now owning 18,122 shares valued at $1,079,000.
• Unilever recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.5175 per share, which reflects a 3.3% yield based on the annual payout of $2.07.

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lowered its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 20.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,751 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,316 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Unilever were worth $998,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its position in Unilever by 12.9% in the first quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 2,815 shares of the company's stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its position in Unilever by 75.2% in the first quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 18,122 shares of the company's stock worth $1,079,000 after acquiring an additional 7,776 shares in the last quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Unilever by 25.3% in the first quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. now owns 111,180 shares of the company's stock worth $6,621,000 after acquiring an additional 22,440 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Unilever by 1.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 63,362 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,773,000 after acquiring an additional 976 shares during the period. Finally, Greenline Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 56.3% during the 1st quarter. Greenline Partners LLC now owns 1,596 shares of the company's stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Unilever in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Unilever to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. CICC Research assumed coverage on Unilever in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.00.

Unilever Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:UL opened at $62.81 on Thursday. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $54.32 and a 52-week high of $65.87. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $61.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.29. The company has a market capitalization of $154.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.40.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.5175 dividend. This is a positive change from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Unilever's payout ratio is currently 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.

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