Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Has $2.31 Million Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,720 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,360 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $2,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Unilever by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,017,253,000 after buying an additional 1,214,563 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Unilever by 66.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,454,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,881,000 after buying an additional 1,378,517 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Unilever during the fourth quarter worth approximately $176,806,000. Hamlin Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Unilever by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 2,874,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,008,000 after purchasing an additional 207,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Equity Investment Corp lifted its stake in Unilever by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 2,169,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,993,000 after purchasing an additional 36,922 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. DZ Bank upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada cut Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.33.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of UL opened at $59.33 on Wednesday. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $46.46 and a 52 week high of $65.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.00, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $56.82 and a 200-day moving average of $59.77.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.4674 per share. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.01%.

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.