Hanson & Doremus Investment Management Acquires 7,901 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 92.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,474 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,901 shares during the period. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management’s holdings in Unilever were worth $981,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. May Hill Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at $296,000. Auxano Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Unilever by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Unilever by 1.5% during the 4th 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 during the period. Argent Trust Co raised its position in shares of Unilever by 34.2% during the 4th 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 bought a new stake in shares of Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at $11,895,000. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on UL shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Unilever from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Unilever to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of Unilever in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unilever currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.67.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UL opened at $62.62 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $153.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $62.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.45. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $54.32 and a 52-week high of $65.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $0.5151 dividend. This is a boost from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.03%.

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.