Wellington Management Group LLP Has $1.67 Billion Position in Unilever PLC $UL

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Unilever PLC by 13.9% in Q1, acquiring a total of 28,100,442 shares worth $1.67 billion.
• A number of institutional investors, including Bank of New York Mellon Corp and Banco Santander S.A., significantly boosted their stakes in Unilever during the same period, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Unilever recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.5175 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.4%.

Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 13.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,100,442 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,421,054 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 1.14% of Unilever worth $1,673,381,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Unilever in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Brentview Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Unilever in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Unilever by 209.0% in the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 618 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UL shares. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Unilever in a research report on Thursday. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. BNP Paribas raised shares of Unilever to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Unilever in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Unilever from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued 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.com, Unilever currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $73.00.

Unilever Stock Performance

Unilever stock traded down $0.2250 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $63.0450. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,322,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,276,153. The company has a market capitalization of $154.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.38. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $54.32 and a 12 month high of $65.87. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $61.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.71.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.5175 dividend. This represents a $2.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. This is an increase 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 59.31%.

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.