Unilever PLC $UL Shares Bought by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Key Points

• Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Unilever PLC by 1.4% during the second quarter, acquiring an additional 8,556 shares, resulting in total holdings worth approximately $36.93 million.
• Unilever declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5175 per share, marking a slight increase from the previous dividend, with an annual yield of 3.5%.
• Analyst ratings are mixed; Zacks upgraded Unilever to a strong-buy rating, while Jefferies maintained an underperform rating, leading to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 603,775 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,556 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Unilever were worth $36,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Unilever Stock Up 0.2%

UL stock opened at $59.26 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $145.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.61. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $54.32 and a 52 week high of $65.66.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.5175 per share. 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%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Unilever's payout ratio is currently 59.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. CICC Research initiated coverage on Unilever in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Unilever presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $73.00.

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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