National Bank of Canada FI Sells 17,774 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI reduced its stake in Unilever PLC by 4.6%, selling 17,774 shares and now holding a total of 370,233 shares valued at approximately $22 million.
• Unilever's stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $72.50, following recent upgrades and downgrades from various brokerages.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5175 per share, increasing from the previous $0.52, which reflects an annualized yield of 3.4% and a payout ratio of 59.03%.

National Bank of Canada FI reduced its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 370,233 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,774 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Unilever were worth $22,043,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Unilever by 33.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 934,804 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,668,000 after purchasing an additional 232,945 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Unilever by 69.7% during the 1st quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 14,282 shares of the company's stock valued at $850,000 after purchasing an additional 5,867 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. raised its stake in Unilever by 70.6% during the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 15,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 6,220 shares during the period. Value Partners Investments Inc. raised its stake in Unilever by 56.7% during the 1st quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 13,958 shares of the company's stock valued at $832,000 after purchasing an additional 5,051 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Unilever by 25.5% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,557,291 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,768,000 after purchasing an additional 316,638 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on UL. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Unilever in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Unilever to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Unilever from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unilever currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.50.

Unilever Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Unilever stock traded up $0.22 on Tuesday, hitting $61.12. 1,897,131 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,351,624. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $61.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.48. Unilever PLC has a 12-month low of $54.32 and a 12-month high of $65.87. The company has a market cap of $149.97 billion, a PE ratio of 17.51, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.38.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.5175 dividend. 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 yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Unilever's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.03%.

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.