Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Buys Shares of 20,560 Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 20,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,166,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. May Hill Capital LLC purchased a new position in Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at $296,000. Auxano Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company's stock worth $1,749,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 155.2% in the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 8,415 shares of the company's stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 5,117 shares during the period. 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 worth $37,193,000 after buying an additional 9,528 shares during the period. Finally, Argent Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 45,387 shares of the company's stock worth $2,573,000 after purchasing an additional 11,555 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. DZ Bank upgraded Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group upgraded Unilever from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.50.

Unilever Stock Performance

Unilever stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $61.78. The stock had a trading volume of 1,690,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,521,044. Unilever PLC has a twelve month low of $53.50 and a twelve month high of $65.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.37 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.44. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $61.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.5151 per share. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. This is a positive change from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Unilever's payout ratio is presently 59.03%.

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.