Avalon Trust Co Cuts Stock Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Avalon Trust Co lessened its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 62.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 600 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in Unilever were worth $36,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UL. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Unilever by 592.8% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,070,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,715,000 after purchasing an additional 916,246 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Unilever by 7,286.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 781,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,551,000 after purchasing an additional 771,130 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,166,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,838,000 after buying an additional 742,260 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter worth $38,626,000. Finally, Factory Mutual Insurance Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever during the first quarter valued at $34,533,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group raised Unilever from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on Unilever in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Unilever to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unilever has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.50.

Unilever Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of UL stock opened at $60.46 on Monday. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $54.32 and a 52-week high of $65.87. The stock has a market cap of $148.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.29.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.5175 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Unilever’s payout ratio is currently 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.