Greenwood Capital Associates LLC Sells 8,225 Shares of Unilever PLC $UL

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC decreased its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 21.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 29,715 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,225 shares during the quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $1,818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UL. Mission Wealth Management LP grew its stake in shares of Unilever by 1.4% during the first quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 11,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $685,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC grew its position in Unilever by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 8,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $532,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Unilever by 1.0% in the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 16,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $967,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Unilever by 0.8% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 21,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,280,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Unilever by 0.4% during the first quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 39,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,379,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Unilever in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unilever presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.00.

Unilever Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Unilever stock opened at $58.90 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.59. Unilever PLC has a 12-month low of $54.32 and a 12-month high of $65.66.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.5175 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.