Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC Decreases Stake in Unilever PLC $UL

Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lessened its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 2.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 18,366 shares of the company’s stock after selling 431 shares during the quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $1,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UL. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Unilever by 13.9% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 28,100,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,673,381,000 after purchasing an additional 3,421,054 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,925,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,787,000 after buying an additional 95,359 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,340,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,911,000 after buying an additional 221,958 shares during the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 3,085,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,744,000 after buying an additional 14,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Unilever by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,260,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,591,000 after acquiring an additional 93,677 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UL has been the subject of a number of research reports. CICC Research began coverage on shares of Unilever in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Unilever from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UL opened at $62.36 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.72. The company has a market cap of $153.01 billion, a PE ratio of 17.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.40. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $54.32 and a 12 month high of $65.66.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.5175 dividend. This is a boost from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Unilever’s payout ratio 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.