Thomasville National Bank Cuts Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Thomasville National Bank cut its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 6.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,622 shares of the company’s stock after selling 617 shares during the quarter. Thomasville National Bank’s holdings in Unilever were worth $513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. May Hill Capital LLC bought a new position in Unilever in the fourth quarter worth approximately $296,000. Auxano Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Unilever by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Unilever by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 655,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,193,000 after purchasing an additional 9,528 shares in the last quarter. Argent Trust Co grew its holdings in Unilever by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 45,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,573,000 after purchasing an additional 11,555 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Unilever in the fourth quarter worth about $11,895,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of Unilever stock opened at $62.62 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a one year low of $54.32 and a one year high of $65.87. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $62.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.45. The company has a market cap of $153.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.94, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.43.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $0.5151 dividend. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas upgraded Unilever to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group upgraded Unilever from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a 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 on the stock. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.67.

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.