Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI Reduces Holdings in Unilever PLC $UL

Key Points

• Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI reduced its holdings in Unilever PLC by 76.6% during the second quarter, now owning only 7,671 shares after selling 25,092 shares.
• Unilever's stock is trading at $59.04 with a market cap of $144.85 billion and an average price target of $73.00 according to analysts.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.5175 per share, reflecting a 3.5% yield and demonstrating a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI lowered its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 76.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,671 shares of the company's stock after selling 25,092 shares during the quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI's holdings in Unilever were worth $469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UL. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Unilever by 13.9% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 28,100,442 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,673,381,000 after purchasing an additional 3,421,054 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Unilever by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,925,891 shares of the company's stock valued at $233,787,000 after buying an additional 95,359 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Unilever by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,340,231 shares of the company's stock valued at $198,911,000 after acquiring an additional 221,958 shares during the period. Hamlin Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 93,677 shares in the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. CICC Research started coverage on Unilever in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. Three research 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. According to MarketBeat, Unilever currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.00.

Unilever Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:UL opened at $59.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $144.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.92, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.40. The business's 50-day moving average price is $61.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.59. Unilever PLC has a twelve month low of $54.32 and a twelve month high of $65.66.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.5175 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This is a boost from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. 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.

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