Synovus Financial Corp Purchases 18,004 Shares of Unilever PLC $UL

Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 88.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,444 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,004 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Unilever were worth $2,289,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Unilever by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 28,100,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,673,381,000 after buying an additional 3,421,054 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 592.8% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,070,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,715,000 after acquiring an additional 916,246 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 7,286.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 781,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,551,000 after purchasing an additional 771,130 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Unilever by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,166,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,838,000 after purchasing an additional 742,260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Factory Mutual Insurance Co. acquired a new position in Unilever during the 1st quarter worth about $34,533,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UL has been the topic of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas upgraded Unilever to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Unilever from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Unilever in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, CICC Research started coverage on Unilever in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of UL stock opened at $62.09 on Tuesday. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $54.32 and a 52-week high of $65.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.77. The company has a market capitalization of $152.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.79, a PEG ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.38.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.5175 dividend. This is an increase from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Unilever’s payout ratio is presently 59.31%.

Unilever Company 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.