Bridgewater Associates LP Acquires New Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Bridgewater Associates LP acquired a new position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $440,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Unilever by 77.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,199 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 957 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Unilever by 0.7% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 639,518 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,543,000 after purchasing an additional 4,398 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Unilever in the third quarter valued at about $1,025,000. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever during the third quarter valued at about $3,310,000. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of Unilever in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,756,000. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unilever Trading Down 1.8 %

UL traded down $1.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $62.58. 1,231,428 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,595,657. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $59.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42. Unilever PLC has a 1-year low of $50.28 and a 1-year high of $65.87.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.4674 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Unilever's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Unilever from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.33.

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.