Sowell Financial Services LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Unilever PLC $UL

Sowell Financial Services LLC reduced its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 10.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,080 shares of the company’s stock after selling 822 shares during the quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 19,097 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,168,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Coastwise Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever during the 2nd quarter worth $204,000. BTC Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 41,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,544,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares during the last quarter. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in Unilever in the second quarter valued at about $396,000. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Unilever by 0.3% in the second quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 424,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,970,000 after buying an additional 1,190 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of UL stock opened at $59.32 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.55 billion, a PE ratio of 17.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.40. Unilever PLC has a fifty-two week low of $54.32 and a fifty-two week high of $65.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.5175 dividend. This is a boost from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on Unilever in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. CICC Research initiated coverage on Unilever in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Unilever to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.00.

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.