Saturna Capital Corp Increases Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Saturna Capital Corp boosted its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 605,943 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,300 shares during the quarter. Saturna Capital Corp's holdings in Unilever were worth $36,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UL. May Hill Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at $296,000. 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 worth $55,668,000 after buying 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 worth $850,000 after buying an additional 5,867 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co raised its stake in Unilever by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 45,387 shares of the company's stock worth $2,573,000 after buying an additional 11,555 shares during the period. Finally, 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 worth $832,000 after buying an additional 5,051 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Unilever Price Performance

NYSE:UL traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $59.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,804,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,474,013. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.98. Unilever PLC has a 1 year low of $54.32 and a 1 year high of $65.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.5151 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. This is a positive change from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Unilever's payout ratio is presently 59.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UL has been the subject of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas upgraded Unilever to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on Unilever in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised Unilever from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.67.

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.