Blue Trust Inc. Purchases 4,174 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 30.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 17,715 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,174 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $1,055,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UL. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter valued at about $176,806,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter valued at about $153,606,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unilever by 140.1% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,719,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,883,000 after acquiring an additional 2,170,242 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unilever by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,017,253,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214,563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Unilever by 401.5% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,465,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,173,298 shares in the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Unilever Trading Down 0.2%

Unilever stock opened at $62.10 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $54.32 and a 12 month high of $65.87. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.52. The firm has a market cap of $152.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.43.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $0.5151 dividend. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Unilever in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Unilever to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Unilever from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Unilever has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.67.

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.