Bonness Enterprises Inc. Makes New $4.07 Million Investment in Unilever PLC $UL

Bonness Enterprises Inc. bought a new position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 66,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,068,000. Unilever makes up about 0.8% of Bonness Enterprises Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Unilever by 16.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,661,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,501,000 after buying an additional 937,346 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Unilever by 13.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,403,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $193,915,000 after acquiring an additional 406,610 shares during the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Unilever by 11.6% during the second quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 2,722,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,690,000 after acquiring an additional 282,076 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unilever by 674.2% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,794,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,208,000 after acquiring an additional 2,433,625 shares during the period. Finally, Equity Investment Corp increased its holdings in shares of Unilever by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 1,996,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,057,000 after acquiring an additional 46,801 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UL. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Unilever from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Unilever currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.55.

Unilever Stock Performance

UL traded up $0.91 during trading on Thursday, hitting $61.89. The stock had a trading volume of 2,978,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,053,858. Unilever PLC has a twelve month low of $54.75 and a twelve month high of $74.97. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $62.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.32.

Unilever (NYSE:UL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($1.25). The firm had revenue of $14.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.80 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Unilever PLC will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Unilever Profile

Unilever PLC is a global consumer goods company headquartered in London, England. It develops, manufactures and markets branded products across beauty and wellbeing, personal care, home care and nutrition. Its portfolio includes widely recognized brands such as Dove, Vaseline, Axe, Rexona, Cif, Domestos, Knorr, Hellmann’s and Magnum, although product availability varies by market.

The company’s products are sold through supermarkets, convenience stores, pharmacies, e-commerce platforms and other retail channels in countries around the world.