Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) Shares Sold by Weatherly Asset Management L. P.

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. reduced its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,440 shares of the company’s stock after selling 860 shares during the quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $1,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Unilever by 26.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,384,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,145,000 after purchasing an additional 911,443 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Unilever by 19.3% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,132,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,416,000 after purchasing an additional 668,913 shares during the last quarter. Equity Investment Corp lifted its stake in Unilever by 107.1% during the first quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 2,910,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,091,000 after purchasing an additional 1,505,233 shares during the last quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management lifted its stake in Unilever by 0.8% during the second quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management now owns 2,767,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,169,000 after purchasing an additional 22,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hamlin Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Unilever by 7.9% during the third quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 2,667,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,273,000 after purchasing an additional 194,165 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on UL shares. UBS Group upgraded Unilever to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America upgraded Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on Unilever in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.75.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of UL opened at $61.33 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a one year low of $46.46 and a one year high of $65.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $63.76 and its 200-day moving average is $58.63.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.4755 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th.

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.