Strategic Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Strategic Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,849 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,263 shares during the quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $3,147,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,017,253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214,563 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,906,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,317,000 after buying an additional 257,538 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Unilever by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,103,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,345,000 after acquiring an additional 250,053 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Unilever by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,830,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,191,000 after acquiring an additional 327,329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Unilever by 140.1% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,719,284 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,883,000 after acquiring an additional 2,170,242 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Price Performance

UL opened at $62.80 on Tuesday. Unilever PLC has a 12-month low of $54.32 and a 12-month high of $65.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.15 billion, a PE ratio of 17.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $62.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.47.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $0.5151 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. This is an increase from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Unilever’s payout ratio is presently 59.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Unilever in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Unilever from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. DZ Bank raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Unilever to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Unilever presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.67.

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.