Hamlin Capital Management LLC Has $163.01 Million Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Hamlin Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,874,929 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 207,549 shares during the quarter. Unilever makes up 4.0% of Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Hamlin Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Unilever worth $163,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in Unilever by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 337,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,143,000 after acquiring an additional 31,759 shares during the period. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Unilever by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 19,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,085,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358 shares during the period. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. grew its position in Unilever by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 18,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,028,000 after acquiring an additional 2,199 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Unilever by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,477,000 after acquiring an additional 3,021 shares during the period. Finally, Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC grew its position in Unilever by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 71,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,081,000 after acquiring an additional 7,380 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on UL shares. StockNews.com downgraded Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

Unilever Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Unilever stock opened at $55.68 on Tuesday. Unilever PLC has a one year low of $46.46 and a one year high of $65.87. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.36.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.4755 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%.

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.