Hamlin Capital Management LLC Acquires 14,711 Shares of Unilever PLC $UL

Key Points

• Hamlin Capital Management acquired an additional 14,711 shares of Unilever PLC, increasing its total holdings to over 3 million shares, making it the fund's 9th largest position.
• Unilever recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.5175 per share, reflecting a strong annualized yield of 3.3%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Unilever, with a recent average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $73.00.

Hamlin Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,085,571 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,711 shares during the quarter. Unilever comprises about 4.4% of Hamlin Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Hamlin Capital Management LLC owned about 0.13% of Unilever worth $188,744,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 13.9% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 28,100,442 shares of the company's stock worth $1,673,381,000 after purchasing an additional 3,421,054 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 2.5% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,925,891 shares of the company's stock worth $233,787,000 after purchasing an additional 95,359 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 7.1% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,340,231 shares of the company's stock worth $198,911,000 after purchasing an additional 221,958 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 4.3% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,260,133 shares of the company's stock worth $134,591,000 after purchasing an additional 93,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 25.5% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,557,291 shares of the company's stock worth $92,768,000 after purchasing an additional 316,638 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UL has been the topic of several analyst reports. CICC Research assumed coverage on Unilever in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Unilever has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $73.00.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of UL opened at $63.18 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $61.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.69. The stock has a market cap of $155.03 billion, a PE ratio of 18.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.40. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $54.32 and a 12 month high of $65.66.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.5175 per share. This is a boost from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Unilever's payout ratio is presently 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.