TrueMark Investments LLC Grows Position in Unilever PLC $UL

TrueMark Investments LLC lifted its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 18.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,426 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,634 shares during the quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $1,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UL. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 5.4% in 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. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 24.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 13,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $782,000 after buying an additional 2,544 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 25.5% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 196,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,692,000 after buying an additional 39,877 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unilever in the first quarter worth $471,000. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unilever in the first quarter worth $233,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on UL. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Unilever from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. Finally, CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Unilever in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.00.

Unilever Stock Up 1.9%

Unilever stock opened at $63.18 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $155.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.10, a PEG ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $61.51 and its 200 day moving average is $61.70. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $54.32 and a 52-week high of $65.66.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.5175 dividend. This is an increase from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Unilever’s payout ratio is currently 59.31%.

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.