Chicago Capital LLC Raises Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Chicago Capital LLC grew its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 115.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 18,775 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,069 shares during the quarter. Chicago Capital LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $1,118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of UL. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Unilever during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Trading Down 0.9%

UL stock opened at $62.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $152.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.83, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.43. Unilever PLC has a twelve month low of $54.32 and a twelve month high of $65.87. The company’s 50 day moving average is $62.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.49.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.5151 per share. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on UL. UBS Group raised shares of Unilever from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. BNP Paribas Exane assumed 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. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Unilever to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.67.

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.