Voloridge Investment Management LLC Buys Shares of 12,048 Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 12,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $683,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. May Hill Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $296,000. Auxano Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,749,000 after buying an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 655,964 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,193,000 after buying an additional 9,528 shares in the last quarter. Argent Trust Co grew its position in shares of Unilever by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 45,387 shares of the company's stock worth $2,573,000 after buying an additional 11,555 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC increased its stake in shares of Unilever by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 43,210 shares of the company's stock worth $2,452,000 after acquiring an additional 6,404 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Unilever Trading Up 0.4%

UL stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $63.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,356,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,504,971. The firm's 50-day moving average is $62.00 and its 200-day moving average is $59.10. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $54.32 and a 12 month high of $65.87. The company has a market cap of $156.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.44.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.5151 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This is a boost from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Unilever's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Unilever to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday. DZ Bank raised Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Unilever in a research report on Thursday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised Unilever from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. 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 two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Unilever currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.67.

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.