Cohen Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Unilever PLC $UL

Cohen Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 6.4% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,150 shares of the company’s stock after selling 491 shares during the quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mission Wealth Management LP raised its holdings in Unilever by 1.4% during the first quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 11,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Unilever by 1.9% during the second quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 8,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Unilever by 1.0% during the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 16,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $967,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Unilever by 0.8% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 21,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,280,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management raised its holdings in Unilever by 0.4% during the first quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 39,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,379,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of UL opened at $58.62 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.58. Unilever PLC has a 1-year low of $54.32 and a 1-year high of $65.66. The stock has a market cap of $143.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.40.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is 59.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on UL shares. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Unilever in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

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.