Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. Decreases Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. lowered its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 29,298 shares of the company’s stock after selling 731 shares during the quarter. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $1,661,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UL. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Unilever during the 4th quarter worth approximately $176,806,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Unilever by 66.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,454,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,881,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378,517 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unilever by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,017,253,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214,563 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at about $11,895,000. Finally, Hamlin Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unilever by 7.8% during the 4th 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. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Unilever Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:UL opened at $58.10 on Wednesday. Unilever PLC has a twelve month low of $46.46 and a twelve month high of $65.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $143.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.35.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business 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 $0.4674 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.