Highland Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Unilever PLC $UL

Highland Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,561 shares of the company’s stock after selling 375 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $830,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UL. Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 1.4% in the first quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 11,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $685,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Unilever by 1.9% in the second quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 8,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Unilever by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 16,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $967,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Unilever by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 21,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,280,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management increased its position in Unilever by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 39,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,379,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. CICC Research started coverage on Unilever in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Unilever Stock Performance

Unilever stock opened at $59.04 on Monday. Unilever PLC has a fifty-two week low of $54.32 and a fifty-two week high of $65.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $61.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.62.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.5175 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 3.5%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.