Meridian Wealth Management LLC Takes $3.41 Million Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 52,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,410,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 911,443 shares in the last quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 0.8% during the second quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management now owns 2,767,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,169,000 after acquiring an additional 22,325 shares in the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 7.9% during the third quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 2,667,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,273,000 after acquiring an additional 194,165 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 981.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,076,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,868,000 after acquiring an additional 1,884,216 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UL has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group upgraded Unilever to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Unilever from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $47.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

Unilever Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:UL opened at $58.61 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $61.86 and its 200-day moving average is $59.55. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $46.46 and a 52-week high of $65.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.4755 dividend. This is an increase from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th.

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.