XTX Topco Ltd Purchases 20,795 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

XTX Topco Ltd lifted its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 42.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 70,140 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 20,795 shares during the period. Unilever comprises about 0.3% of XTX Topco Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. XTX Topco Ltd’s holdings in Unilever were worth $3,977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UL. Mariner LLC lifted its position in Unilever by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 387,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,990,000 after purchasing an additional 21,321 shares during the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at $351,000. Altman Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 29,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,654,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its position in Unilever by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 716,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,624,000 after acquiring an additional 16,366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seeds Investor LLC increased its stake in Unilever by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Seeds Investor LLC now owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of Unilever stock opened at $61.88 on Monday. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $46.46 and a 52-week high of $65.87. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $58.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.4674 dividend. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.01%.

Unilever 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.