Unilever PLC $UL Position Trimmed by Cottonwood Capital Advisors LLC

Cottonwood Capital Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 5.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,793 shares of the company’s stock after selling 220 shares during the period. Cottonwood Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Unilever by 33.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 934,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,668,000 after buying an additional 232,945 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 28,100,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,673,381,000 after acquiring an additional 3,421,054 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 69.7% during the 1st quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 14,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $850,000 after acquiring an additional 5,867 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Unilever by 65.1% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 232,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,821,000 after acquiring an additional 91,511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 70.6% during the first quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 15,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $895,000 after acquiring an additional 6,220 shares in the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on UL shares. CICC Research started coverage on Unilever in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Unilever Trading Up 1.9%

Unilever stock opened at $63.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $155.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s fifty 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.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is an increase from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Unilever’s payout ratio is 59.31%.

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.