Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Has $9.05 Million Stock Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 14.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 164,607 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 20,643 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Unilever were worth $9,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UL. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Unilever by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,494,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,672,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,417 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,830,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $525,051,000 after purchasing an additional 951,446 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 6,548,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,459,000 after buying an additional 329,705 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 26.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,384,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,145,000 after buying an additional 911,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Unilever by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,132,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,416,000 after buying an additional 668,913 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on UL. TD Cowen started 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 3rd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Unilever to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Unilever from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Unilever from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.75.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of UL stock opened at $64.33 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $160.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $61.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.60. Unilever PLC has a one year low of $46.16 and a one year high of $65.86.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued 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 (DPR) is presently 55.10%.

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.