Northstar Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Unilever PLC $UL

Northstar Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 3.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 17,536 shares of the company’s stock after selling 634 shares during the quarter. Northstar Group Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $1,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 28,100,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,673,381,000 after acquiring an additional 3,421,054 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,925,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,787,000 after acquiring an additional 95,359 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,340,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,911,000 after acquiring an additional 221,958 shares during the period. Hamlin Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 3,070,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $182,870,000 after acquiring an additional 195,931 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,260,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,591,000 after acquiring an additional 93,677 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Unilever in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Unilever Stock Performance

NYSE UL opened at $58.80 on Thursday. Unilever PLC has a one year low of $54.32 and a one year high of $65.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.27 billion, a PE ratio of 16.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.41.

Unilever Increases Dividend

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