Unilever PLC $UL Shares Sold by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 2.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,561 shares of the company’s stock after selling 375 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of UL. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Unilever in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Brentview Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Unilever in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Unilever by 209.0% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 618 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA purchased a new position in shares of Unilever in the 2nd quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unilever during the 1st quarter worth about $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed 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 research note on Saturday, September 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, CICC Research assumed coverage on Unilever in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.00.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of Unilever stock opened at $59.04 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.62. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $54.32 and a 12 month high of $65.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.92, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.40.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.5175 per share. This represents a $2.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Unilever’s payout ratio is currently 59.31%.

About Unilever

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.