Ameriflex Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Unilever PLC $UL

Ameriflex Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 73.9% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,070 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,029 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $65,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UL. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $599,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Unilever by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group grew its position in Unilever by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 145,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,662,000 after acquiring an additional 955 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Unilever by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 11,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $674,000 after buying an additional 1,304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in shares of Unilever by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on UL. Jefferies Financial Group restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Unilever in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Unilever Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:UL opened at $59.04 on Monday. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $54.32 and a 12 month high of $65.66. The business’s 50-day moving average is $61.46 and its 200 day moving average is $61.62. The company has a market capitalization of $144.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.40.

Unilever Increases Dividend

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

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.