Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Trims Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. reduced its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 28.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,926 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,343 shares during the quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $1,160,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unilever during the 4th quarter worth $325,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Unilever by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 51.4% in the 4th quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 3,245 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at about $8,038,000. Finally, Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in Unilever in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,628,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on UL shares. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Unilever from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $52.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.00.

Unilever Trading Up 0.3 %

UL stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $48.10. 1,998,564 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,809,800. The company has a 50-day moving average of $49.12 and a 200-day moving average of $48.52. Unilever PLC has a 1 year low of $46.16 and a 1 year high of $55.99.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.4582 per share. This represents a $1.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd.

About Unilever

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.