American Century Companies Inc. Has $161.46 Million Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,847,686 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 131,349 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $161,464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UL. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:UL opened at $58.64 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. Unilever PLC has a twelve month low of $46.46 and a twelve month high of $65.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $57.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.49.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on UL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.33.

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.