Rhumbline Advisers Sells 378 Shares of Unilever PLC $UL

Rhumbline Advisers lessened its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,814 shares of the company’s stock after selling 378 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Unilever were worth $3,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UL. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Unilever by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 28,100,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,673,381,000 after acquiring an additional 3,421,054 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 771,130 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Unilever in the 1st quarter valued at about $45,413,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Factory Mutual Insurance Co. purchased a new stake in Unilever during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,533,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas upgraded Unilever to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Unilever in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of Unilever in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unilever currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UL opened at $62.35 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.50. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $54.32 and a 52 week high of $65.87. The company has a market cap of $152.99 billion, a PE ratio of 17.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.40.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.5175 per share. This represents a $2.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Unilever’s payout ratio 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.