Greenwood Capital Associates LLC Sells 8,225 Shares of Unilever PLC $UL

Key Points

• Greenwood Capital Associates LLC has reduced its stake in Unilever PLC by 21.7%, selling 8,225 shares, and now holds 29,715 shares valued at $1,818,000.
• Unilever recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.5175 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $2.07 and a dividend yield of 3.5%.
• Analysts have varied ratings on Unilever, with recent upgrades leading to an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC trimmed its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 21.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,715 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,225 shares during the quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC's holdings in Unilever were worth $1,818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 9.6% in the second quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,588 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,137,000 after buying an additional 1,623 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in Unilever during the 2nd quarter valued at about $540,000. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC lifted its stake in Unilever by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 31,867 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,949,000 after acquiring an additional 6,057 shares in the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners grew its stake in shares of Unilever by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 8,428 shares of the company's stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Precision Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever in the second quarter valued at about $1,045,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UL opened at $58.90 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $144.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.40. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $54.32 and a 52-week high of $65.66. The firm's fifty day moving average is $61.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.59.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.5175 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Unilever's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. CICC Research initiated coverage on Unilever in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.00.

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.

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