Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Boosts Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,840 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 194 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UL. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. 9.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised shares of Unilever from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. DZ Bank upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. BNP Paribas upgraded Unilever to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on Unilever in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unilever currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.67.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of Unilever stock opened at $62.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $153.91 billion, a PE ratio of 17.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.45. Unilever PLC has a one year low of $54.32 and a one year high of $65.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $0.5151 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This is an increase from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. Unilever’s payout ratio is currently 59.03%.

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.