SouthState Corp Grows Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

SouthState Corp boosted its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,579 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. SouthState Corp’s holdings in Unilever were worth $451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UL. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Unilever by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after buying an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in Unilever by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 78,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,423,000 after buying an additional 3,579 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Unilever during the fourth quarter worth $442,000. Seeds Investor LLC increased its position in Unilever by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Seeds Investor LLC now owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Unilever during the fourth quarter worth $351,000. 9.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on UL. Wall Street Zen downgraded Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. BNP Paribas raised Unilever to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group upgraded Unilever from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Unilever in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Unilever currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.50.

Unilever Stock Down 0.3%

UL stock opened at $60.88 on Tuesday. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $54.32 and a 52-week high of $65.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.38. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.47.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.5175 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Unilever’s payout ratio is 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.