StockNews.com Downgrades Unilever (NYSE:UL) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Unilever (NYSE:UL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning.

Separately, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Unilever from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $48.00.

Unilever Price Performance

UL stock opened at $51.24 on Tuesday. Unilever has a 12 month low of $46.16 and a 12 month high of $55.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $49.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.56.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.4556 per share. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th.

Institutional Trading of Unilever

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of UL. Red Tortoise LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unilever during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 111.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 552 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Unilever during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unilever during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Unilever by 215.1% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.