Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Unilever PLC $UL

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in Unilever PLC by 42.1% during the first quarter, now holding 16,650 shares worth approximately $991,000.
• Unilever recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5175 per share, reflecting an increase from the previous dividend and resulting in a 3.3% yield.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Unilever, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and price targets ranging from $72.50 to $73.00.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 42.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 16,650 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,931 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Unilever were worth $991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UL. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Unilever by 33.2% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 934,804 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,668,000 after acquiring an additional 232,945 shares during the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 69.7% in the first quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 14,282 shares of the company's stock worth $850,000 after buying an additional 5,867 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 70.6% during the first quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 15,030 shares of the company's stock worth $895,000 after buying an additional 6,220 shares during the period. Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 56.7% during the first quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 13,958 shares of the company's stock valued at $832,000 after buying an additional 5,051 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Unilever by 65.1% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 232,096 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,821,000 after acquiring an additional 91,511 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. CICC Research assumed coverage on Unilever in a report on Thursday. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of Unilever in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Unilever from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.00.

Unilever Price Performance

UL stock traded down $0.2250 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $63.0450. 2,322,970 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,276,153. Unilever PLC has a 1-year low of $54.32 and a 1-year high of $65.87. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $61.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.71. The firm has a market cap of $154.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.38.

Unilever Increases Dividend

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