Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) Shares Sold by Auxano Advisors LLC

Auxano Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,813 shares of the company’s stock after selling 807 shares during the quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $1,154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Unilever by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,748,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,734 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Unilever by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,548,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,293,000 after purchasing an additional 515,088 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Unilever by 4,657.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 431,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,302,000 after purchasing an additional 422,230 shares during the period. Saratoga Research & Investment Management increased its position in shares of Unilever by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management now owns 2,512,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,122,000 after purchasing an additional 290,690 shares during the period. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH increased its position in shares of Unilever by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 1,215,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,903,000 after purchasing an additional 247,004 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UL has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered Unilever from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Unilever Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Unilever stock traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $51.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,004,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,896,154. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.59. Unilever PLC has a 1-year low of $46.16 and a 1-year high of $55.77.

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 given a dividend of $0.4556 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. Unilever’s payout ratio is 57.83%.

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.