Wellington Management Group LLP Lowers Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Wellington Management Group LLP cut its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 28.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,014,260 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,054,325 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 1.00% of Unilever worth $1,624,926,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Unilever by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,726,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,086,547,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,177 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Unilever by 26.2% during the 2nd 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 lifted its stake in Unilever by 0.8% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Unilever by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 2,667,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,273,000 after acquiring an additional 194,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp lifted its stake in Unilever by 1,866.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,135,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,451,000 after acquiring an additional 2,027,221 shares in the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.75.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UL opened at $59.55 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a fifty-two week low of $46.46 and a fifty-two week high of $65.87. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.91.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.4755 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35.

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.