Brown Advisory Inc. Has $61.94 Million Stock Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 17.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,040,191 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 152,957 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.'s holdings in Unilever were worth $61,943,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UL. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Unilever during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Unilever during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in Unilever during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Unilever during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Greenline Partners LLC bought a new stake in Unilever during the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UL traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $61.44. The company had a trading volume of 1,971,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,487,327. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $62.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.77. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $54.32 and a 12 month high of $65.87. The firm has a market cap of $150.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.60, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.41.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $0.5151 dividend. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This is a positive change from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Unilever's dividend payout ratio is 59.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on UL. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Unilever in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Unilever to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Unilever from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unilever has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.67.

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.