Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 3.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 346,321 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,268 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $22,427,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. &PARTNERS increased its holdings in shares of Unilever by 231.1% in the 2nd quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 23,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,295,000 after purchasing an additional 16,444 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 708.5% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares during the period. Fullcircle Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Unilever during the second quarter worth about $3,175,000. Finally, Optas LLC grew its position in Unilever by 5.8% during the second quarter. Optas LLC now owns 5,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UL opened at $57.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $142.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.48. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $46.46 and a 12 month high of $65.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.22.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.4755 per share. This is a boost from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UL. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.75.

About Unilever

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.