Vontobel Holding Ltd. Grows Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 29.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,104 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,848 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $1,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of UL. Wedmont Private Capital purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever in the first quarter valued at about $206,000. &PARTNERS purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever in the first quarter valued at about $362,000. Range Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 15.2% in the first quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 10,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 1,372 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever in the first quarter valued at about $3,312,000. Finally, Salvus Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 20.0% in the first quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $817,000 after purchasing an additional 2,710 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised shares of Unilever to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Bank of America raised shares of Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $47.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Unilever in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Unilever has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of UL opened at $62.95 on Monday. Unilever PLC has a 1 year low of $46.16 and a 1 year high of $65.87. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.80.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.4773 dividend. This is a boost from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.91 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%.

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.