ProVise Management Group LLC Has $8.87 Million Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

ProVise Management Group LLC raised its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 161,259 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,818 shares during the quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $8,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its position in shares of Unilever by 6.8% in the second quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 38,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,096,000 after acquiring an additional 2,427 shares during the last quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 13.0% during the second quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 35,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,953,000 after acquiring an additional 4,088 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 8.7% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 516,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,406,000 after acquiring an additional 41,399 shares during the period. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 2.7% during the second quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc now owns 6,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 20.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 63,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,445,000 after acquiring an additional 10,512 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE UL opened at $64.39 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $160.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.54. Unilever PLC has a twelve month low of $46.16 and a twelve month high of $65.86.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.4773 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.91 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. This is a boost from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is 55.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Unilever from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Unilever in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upgraded Unilever to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.75.

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.