Sustainable Growth Advisers LP Boosts Stock Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Sustainable Growth Advisers LP boosted its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 166,562 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,618 shares during the period. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP’s holdings in Unilever were worth $9,444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Unilever during the 4th quarter worth approximately $176,806,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 981.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,076,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,216 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,017,253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214,563 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 493.4% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,105,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,785,000 after purchasing an additional 918,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 7,466.0% during the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 629,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,897,000 after purchasing an additional 621,248 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Unilever Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE UL opened at $58.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $145.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $46.46 and a 52-week high of $65.87. The business’s 50 day moving average is $56.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.75.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.4674 dividend. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s payout ratio is 53.01%.

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.