Unilever PLC $UL Shares Sold by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 15.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 81,444 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,356 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $5,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Unilever by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,665,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,054,973,000 after buying an additional 2,935,227 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Unilever by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,537,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,336,048,000 after buying an additional 959,269 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Unilever by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,773,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $342,261,000 after buying an additional 91,049 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Unilever by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,001,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,183,000 after buying an additional 133,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in Unilever by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,293,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,221,000 after buying an additional 17,763 shares in the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unilever Trading Down 1.0%

Unilever stock opened at $57.94 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.17. Unilever PLC has a fifty-two week low of $54.95 and a fifty-two week high of $74.97.

Unilever (NYSE:UL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.75 by ($1.00). The business had revenue of $11.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.39 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Unilever PLC will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.5547 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on UL shares. Kepler Capital Markets lowered Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Unilever from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Unilever to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. BNP Paribas Exane set a $71.00 price target on Unilever and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Argus upgraded Unilever to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unilever presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.55.

About Unilever

Unilever PLC is a global consumer goods company with roots dating back to the early 20th century, formed from the merger of the British firm Lever Brothers and the Dutch company Margarine Unie. The company develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of branded products in personal care, home care and foods and refreshments. Unilever’s corporate structure and listings reflect its long history in both the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and it operates at scale across diverse consumer markets worldwide.

Unilever’s business is organized around major product categories—Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care and Foods & Refreshment—and includes numerous well-known consumer brands across those categories.