Unilever PLC $UL Shares Purchased by Vident Advisory LLC

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Unilever PLC by 46% in Q1, now owning 39,581 shares valued at approximately $2.36 million.
• Unilever's stock has shown positive momentum, trading up 1.4% recently with a market cap of $155.18 billion and an average target price of $73.00 from analysts.
• Unilever announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.5175 per share, reflecting a 3.3% dividend yield, with payments set for September 12th.

Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 46.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,581 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,475 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Unilever were worth $2,357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UL. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 28,100,442 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,673,381,000 after purchasing an additional 3,421,054 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 592.8% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,070,818 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,715,000 after purchasing an additional 916,246 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 7,286.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 781,713 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,551,000 after purchasing an additional 771,130 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 764.5% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 775,561 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,185,000 after purchasing an additional 685,848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Factory Mutual Insurance Co. bought a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,533,000. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UL. CICC Research began coverage on Unilever in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Unilever in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. BNP Paribas raised Unilever to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Unilever Stock Performance

UL traded down $0.75 during trading on Friday, hitting $64.26. 2,691,148 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,099,057. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.13. The firm has a market cap of $157.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.40. Unilever PLC has a 1 year low of $54.32 and a 1 year high of $65.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.5175 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Unilever's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.31%.

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.