Pitcairn Co. Boosts Stock Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Pitcairn Co. grew its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,291 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,794 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $924,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Auxano Advisors LLC raised its stake in Unilever by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,749,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. May Hill Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter worth about $296,000. Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of Unilever by 155.2% during the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 8,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 5,117 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 655,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,193,000 after purchasing an additional 9,528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 43,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,452,000 after purchasing an additional 6,404 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Unilever Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of Unilever stock opened at $60.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $149.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $46.46 and a 52-week high of $65.87. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.12.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.4674 per share. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.