Kanawha Capital Management LLC Has $3.50 Million Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Kanawha Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 3.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,823 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,121 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $3,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Unilever by 26.2% in the 2nd 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 shares of Unilever by 19.3% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,132,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,416,000 after acquiring an additional 668,913 shares during the period. Equity Investment Corp lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 107.1% during the first quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 2,910,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,091,000 after acquiring an additional 1,505,233 shares during the period. Saratoga Research & Investment Management boosted its holdings in Unilever by 0.8% in the second quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management now owns 2,767,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,169,000 after acquiring an additional 22,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hamlin Capital Management LLC increased its position in Unilever by 7.9% in 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 period. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UL opened at $61.32 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $63.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.80. The stock has a market cap of $152.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.49. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $46.46 and a 52-week high of $65.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.4755 dividend. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Unilever’s payout ratio is 55.75%.

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.