Earnest Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in Unilever PLC $UL

Key Points

• Earnest Partners LLC has decreased its stake in Unilever PLC by 12.2%, now holding 33,367 shares valued at approximately $1.99 million.
• Institutional investors like Wellington Management and Bank of America have increased their holdings in Unilever, indicating positive interest in the stock.
• Unilever announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5175 per share, reflecting an increase from its previous dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%.

Earnest Partners LLC decreased its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 12.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,367 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,618 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC's holdings in Unilever were worth $1,987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its stake in Unilever by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 11,497 shares of the company's stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 16,246 shares of the company's stock valued at $967,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 21,492 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,280,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management raised its holdings in Unilever by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 39,953 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,379,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in Unilever by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 35,729 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,128,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Unilever in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Unilever in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Unilever to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unilever has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $73.00.

Unilever Trading Up 1.4%

Unilever stock traded up $0.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $63.25. The company had a trading volume of 3,318,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,168,722. Unilever PLC has a fifty-two week low of $54.32 and a fifty-two week high of $65.87. The company has a market cap of $155.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.90.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.5175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Unilever's payout ratio is 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.