Truist Financial Corp Reduces Stake in Unilever PLC $UL

Key Points

• Truist Financial Corp reduced its stake in Unilever PLC by 0.5% during Q2, leaving them with 914,068 shares valued at approximately $55.9 million.
• Unilever recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.5175 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $2.07 and a yield of 3.5%.
• A mix of analysts has rated Unilever’s stock with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy", with a target price of $73.00.

Truist Financial Corp lessened its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 914,068 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,272 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp's holdings in Unilever were worth $55,914,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UL. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unilever in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Brentview Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unilever in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 209.0% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 618 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA purchased a new position in shares of Unilever in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unilever in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on UL shares. Zacks Research upgraded Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. CICC Research assumed coverage on Unilever in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.00.

Unilever Trading Down 0.8%

Unilever stock opened at $58.80 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $144.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.59. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $54.32 and a 12 month high of $65.66.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.5175 dividend. This represents a $2.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Unilever's dividend payout ratio is 59.31%.

Unilever Company 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.

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