Blair William & Co. IL Has $6.12 Million Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL has reduced its holdings in Unilever PLC by 13.0%, now owning 102,750 shares after selling 15,348 shares in the first quarter.
• Unilever has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.5175, up from $0.52, reflecting an annualized payout of $2.07 and a yield of 3.4%.
• Analyst ratings for Unilever show a consensus of "Moderate Buy", with target prices ranging from $72.50 to $73.00 following various upgrades and downgrades by brokerage firms.

Blair William & Co. IL trimmed its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 13.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,750 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,348 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in Unilever were worth $6,119,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unilever by 592.8% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,070,818 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,715,000 after acquiring an additional 916,246 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Unilever by 7,286.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 781,713 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,551,000 after purchasing an additional 771,130 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Unilever by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,166,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $122,838,000 after purchasing an additional 742,260 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Unilever during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,626,000. Finally, Factory Mutual Insurance Co. purchased a new position in Unilever during the first quarter worth approximately $34,533,000. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group upgraded Unilever from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. BNP Paribas upgraded Unilever to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Unilever in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unilever presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.50.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UL traded down $0.27 on Friday, hitting $61.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,120,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,386,603. The company has a market capitalization of $149.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.38. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $54.32 and a 12 month high of $65.87. The stock's 50-day moving average is $61.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.42.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.5175 dividend. This represents a $2.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a positive change from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Unilever's payout ratio is currently 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.