Bleakley Financial Group LLC Purchases 9,475 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,107 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,475 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $3,970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Unilever by 26.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,384,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,145,000 after acquiring an additional 911,443 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Unilever by 19.3% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,132,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,416,000 after purchasing an additional 668,913 shares during the last quarter. Equity Investment Corp grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,505,233 shares during the period. Saratoga Research & Investment Management increased its position in Unilever by 0.8% in the second quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management now owns 2,767,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,169,000 after buying an additional 22,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 1,866.0% in the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,135,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,451,000 after buying an additional 2,027,221 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unilever Trading Up 0.1 %

UL stock opened at $62.95 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $63.71 and a 200-day moving average of $57.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.48. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $46.16 and a 12 month high of $65.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.4773 per share. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Unilever’s payout ratio is 54.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen started coverage on Unilever in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Unilever to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.75.

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.