Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) Shares Bought by Procyon Advisors LLC

Procyon Advisors LLC raised its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 92.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 68,122 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,789 shares during the quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC's holdings in Unilever were worth $4,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of UL. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,017,253,000 after buying an additional 1,214,563 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,906,824 shares of the company's stock valued at $448,317,000 after buying an additional 257,538 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,103,075 shares of the company's stock valued at $289,345,000 after buying an additional 250,053 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,830,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $217,191,000 after buying an additional 327,329 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 140.1% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,719,284 shares of the company's stock valued at $210,883,000 after buying an additional 2,170,242 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group upgraded Unilever from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. BNP Paribas upgraded Unilever to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Unilever in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unilever presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.67.

Unilever Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE UL traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $62.73. 2,086,279 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,492,353. Unilever PLC has a 1-year low of $54.32 and a 1-year high of $65.87. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.32. The company has a market cap of $154.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.97, a P/E/G 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 a positive change from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Unilever's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.03%.

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.