JPMorgan Chase & Co. Acquires 149,111 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 104.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 292,225 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 149,111 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s holdings in Unilever were worth $18,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UL. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc grew its position in shares of Unilever by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc now owns 6,653 shares of the company's stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Unilever by 7.0% during the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,781 shares of the company's stock worth $181,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Unilever by 0.5% in the third quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 39,530 shares of the company's stock worth $2,568,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC increased its stake in Unilever by 4.5% in the third quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 4,536 shares of the company's stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 4.3% during the third quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 4,875 shares of the company's stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of UL stock traded down $1.00 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $55.14. The company had a trading volume of 2,718,429 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,223,705. The company has a market cap of $136.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.49. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $46.46 and a 12 month high of $65.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.29.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.4755 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. This is an increase from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Unilever's payout ratio is currently 56.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on UL. StockNews.com lowered Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered Unilever from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Unilever has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $61.75.

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.