Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Boosts Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 207,453 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,408 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $13,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,726,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,086,547,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,177 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Unilever by 26.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,384,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,145,000 after acquiring an additional 911,443 shares in the last quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Unilever by 0.8% during the second quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management now owns 2,767,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,169,000 after acquiring an additional 22,325 shares during the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unilever by 7.9% during the third quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 2,667,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,273,000 after acquiring an additional 194,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp raised its position in shares of Unilever by 1,866.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,135,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,451,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027,221 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America raised shares of Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

Unilever Price Performance

UL stock opened at $59.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $146.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.48. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $46.46 and a 12 month high of $65.87. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.98.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.4755 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.29%.

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.