Hilltop National Bank Buys New Shares in Unilever PLC $UL

Key Points

• Hilltop National Bank acquired 8,821 shares of Unilever PLC, valued at approximately $540,000, during the second quarter.
• Unilever recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.5175, up from $0.52, which results in an annualized yield of 3.5%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Unilever, with an average target price of $73.00 and a general consensus of "Moderate Buy."

Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 8,821 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $540,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 3,421,054 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 95,359 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 221,958 shares during the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Unilever by 6.8% during the first quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 3,070,860 shares of the company's stock worth $182,870,000 after acquiring an additional 195,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 93,677 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. CICC Research assumed coverage on Unilever in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $73.00.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UL opened at $59.04 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a 1-year low of $54.32 and a 1-year high of $65.66. The business has a 50-day moving average of $61.46 and a 200-day moving average of $61.59. The company has a market capitalization of $144.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.92, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.40.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.5175 dividend. This is an increase from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Unilever's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.31%.

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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