SouthState Corp Sells 433 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

SouthState Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,215 shares of the company’s stock after selling 433 shares during the quarter. SouthState Corp’s holdings in Unilever were worth $409,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UL. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Unilever by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 7,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Unilever by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP grew its position in shares of Unilever by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 66,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,742,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Unilever by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 160,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,102,000 after purchasing an additional 9,590 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. DZ Bank raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Unilever currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.33.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of UL opened at $59.73 on Tuesday. Unilever PLC has a fifty-two week low of $46.46 and a fifty-two week high of $65.87. The firm has a market cap of $148.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $57.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.62.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.4674 dividend. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.01%.

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.