Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Makes New $197,000 Investment in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $197,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UL. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Unilever by 16.9% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 110,528 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,180,000 after purchasing an additional 15,941 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Unilever in the 3rd quarter worth $11,694,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Unilever by 249.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,748,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,204,000 after buying an additional 1,248,136 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Unilever by 236.2% during the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 30,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,997,000 after acquiring an additional 21,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever during the third quarter worth about $1,388,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.75.

Unilever Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of UL opened at $55.50 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $57.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.31. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $46.46 and a 52-week high of $65.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.4755 per share. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th.

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.