Townsend & Associates Inc Purchases New Stake in Unilever PLC $UL

Townsend & Associates Inc acquired a new position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 29,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,811,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UL. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unilever during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Brentview Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Unilever in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Unilever by 209.0% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 618 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Unilever during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA bought a new stake in shares of Unilever during the second quarter worth approximately $55,000. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UL opened at $63.18 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.69. Unilever PLC has a 1 year low of $54.32 and a 1 year high of $65.66. The company has a market capitalization of $155.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.40.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.5175 per share. This is an increase from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Unilever’s payout ratio is currently 59.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on UL. CICC Research started coverage on Unilever in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Unilever from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Unilever has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

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.