Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 346,321 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,268 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $22,427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Fiera Capital Corp grew its position in shares of Unilever by 1,866.0% during the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,135,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,451,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027,221 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Unilever by 981.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,076,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,868,000 after acquiring an additional 1,884,216 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Unilever by 249.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,748,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,204,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248,136 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in Unilever by 598.7% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,301,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,726,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,086,547,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,177 shares in the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UL. Bank of America raised Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.75.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of Unilever stock opened at $57.55 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $59.93 and a 200 day moving average of $60.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.48. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $46.46 and a 12 month high of $65.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.4755 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This is a boost from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.63%.

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.