Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) Shares Sold by NBC Securities Inc.

NBC Securities Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 4.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,377 shares of the company’s stock after selling 488 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UL. Fiera Capital Corp grew its holdings in Unilever by 1,866.0% during the second 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 during the period. Equity Investment Corp boosted its position in Unilever by 107.1% during the first quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 2,910,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,091,000 after purchasing an additional 1,505,233 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Unilever by 249.5% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,748,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,204,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248,136 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Unilever by 598.7% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,301,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,992 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Unilever by 26.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,384,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,145,000 after purchasing an additional 911,443 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on UL shares. UBS Group upgraded Unilever to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Unilever in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Unilever has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.75.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UL opened at $63.18 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.55. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $46.16 and a 52-week high of $65.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.4773 dividend. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.91 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th.

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.