Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Unilever PLC $UL

Key Points

• Verdence Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stakes in Unilever PLC by 19.6%, selling 8,492 shares in the second quarter, bringing its total holdings to 34,763 shares valued at $2,126,000.
• Unilever recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5175 per share, reflecting an increase from its previous dividend, with a current yield of 3.4%.
• Analyst ratings for Unilever vary, with a recent upgrade from Zacks Research to a strong-buy, while overall, analysts maintain a Moderate Buy rating and an average target price of $73.00.

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,763 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,492 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Unilever were worth $2,126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Unilever by 32.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 46,975 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,873,000 after buying an additional 11,481 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Unilever by 8.9% in the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 27,663 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,692,000 after acquiring an additional 2,260 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Unilever by 2.1% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 114,396 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,998,000 after acquiring an additional 2,373 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in Unilever by 22.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 96,568 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,908,000 after acquiring an additional 17,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Unilever by 3.8% in the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 53,126 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,958 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. CICC Research initiated coverage on Unilever in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unilever has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $73.00.

Unilever Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of UL stock opened at $60.11 on Tuesday. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $54.32 and a 52 week high of $65.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.49 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $61.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.65.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $0.5175 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Unilever's dividend 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.

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