King Luther Capital Management Corp Boosts Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 3.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,461 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 222 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Unilever were worth $410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Unilever by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 717,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,765,000 after buying an additional 26,848 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 144,271 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,994,000 after acquiring an additional 6,663 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in shares of Unilever by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 21,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 2,209 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 999 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Unilever by 50.2% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 647,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,342,000 after purchasing an additional 216,596 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on UL shares. StockNews.com raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 3rd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Unilever in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Bank of America upgraded Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Unilever from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Unilever to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UL opened at $64.41 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $62.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.80. Unilever PLC has a 1 year low of $46.16 and a 1 year high of $65.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $161.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.48.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.4773 per share. This represents a $1.91 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. This is an increase from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.81%.

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.