Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Takes Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. purchased a new position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 84,812 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,051,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Unilever by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,250 shares of the company's stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Tyler Stone Wealth Management grew its stake in Unilever by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 6,576 shares of the company's stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its stake in Unilever by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 9,956 shares of the company's stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its stake in Unilever by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 5,646 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in Unilever by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,966 shares of the company's stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on UL. UBS Group raised Unilever from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Unilever in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. DZ Bank raised Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. BNP Paribas raised Unilever to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.67.

Unilever Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Unilever stock traded down $0.04 on Friday, hitting $63.03. The stock had a trading volume of 1,661,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,493,984. Unilever PLC has a twelve month low of $54.32 and a twelve month high of $65.87. The business's 50 day moving average is $62.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.29. The stock has a market cap of $154.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.43.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.5151 dividend. This is an increase from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. Unilever's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.