Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 8,140 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 39.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,900 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,140 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Unilever were worth $1,721,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. May Hill Capital LLC purchased a new position in Unilever in the fourth quarter worth about $296,000. Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 69.7% during the first quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 14,282 shares of the company's stock valued at $850,000 after buying an additional 5,867 shares during the last quarter. Argent Trust Co increased its position in shares of Unilever by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 45,387 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,573,000 after acquiring an additional 11,555 shares in the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Unilever by 56.7% in the 1st quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 13,958 shares of the company's stock worth $832,000 after acquiring an additional 5,051 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Unilever by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,557,291 shares of the company's stock worth $92,768,000 after acquiring an additional 316,638 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on UL. BNP Paribas upgraded Unilever to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on Unilever in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised Unilever from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Unilever presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.67.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UL traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $61.52. 991,909 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,492,131. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.63, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.41. Unilever PLC has a one year low of $54.32 and a one year high of $65.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $62.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.69.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $0.5151 dividend. This is an increase from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. Unilever's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.03%.

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.