Everett Harris & Co. CA Has $97.42 Million Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Key Points

• Everett Harris & Co. CA has reduced its stake in Unilever PLC by 0.9%, maintaining about 1.2% of its holdings in the company, which is valued at approximately $97.4 million.
• Recently, analysts have upgraded Unilever’s ratings, with BNP Paribas assigning a $73.00 price target and changing their rating to "strong-buy," while UBS Group upgraded it to "hold."
• Unilever announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5175 per share, representing an annual yield of 3.4%, set to be paid on September 12th.

Everett Harris & Co. CA lowered its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,635,860 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,559 shares during the quarter. Unilever makes up 1.2% of Everett Harris & Co. CA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Everett Harris & Co. CA owned about 0.07% of Unilever worth $97,415,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Unilever during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Brentview Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Unilever during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Unilever by 209.0% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 618 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of UL stock traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $61.05. 2,120,505 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,386,603. The stock's 50-day moving average is $61.28 and its 200-day moving average is $60.42. The stock has a market cap of $149.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.38. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $54.32 and a 52 week high of $65.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.5175 per share. This represents a $2.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Unilever's payout ratio is currently 59.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on UL shares. Wall Street Zen cut Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. UBS Group raised Unilever from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. BNP Paribas upgraded Unilever to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on Unilever in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.50.

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.