PFG Investments LLC Grows Position in Unilever PLC $UL

PFG Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 13.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,798 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,512 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UL. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Unilever in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Brentview Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unilever in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Unilever by 209.0% in the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 618 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA bought a new position in Unilever during the second quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Unilever during the first quarter valued at approximately $63,000. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, CICC Research began coverage on shares of Unilever in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Unilever Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE UL opened at $58.90 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $54.32 and a 52 week high of $65.66. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $61.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.59.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.5175 per share. This represents a $2.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Unilever’s payout ratio is currently 59.31%.

Unilever Company 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.