44 Wealth Management LLC Grows Position in Unilever PLC $UL

Key Points

• 44 Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Unilever by 212.1% in Q3, buying 28,415 shares to own 41,813 shares valued at about $2.48 million.
• Unilever's latest quarter significantly missed estimates (EPS $0.75 vs. $1.75 expected; revenue $11.87B vs. $31.39B expected) and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5547 (annualized $2.22, yield 3.5%; ex-dividend Feb 27, payable Apr 10).
• Large institutions like Wellington and Fisher hold tens of millions of shares, and analysts' consensus rating on Unilever is a Hold with a $65.55 target price.

44 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 212.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,813 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 28,415 shares during the quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Unilever were worth $2,479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UL. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,665,544 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,054,973,000 after purchasing an additional 2,935,227 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Unilever by 4.4% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,537,917 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,336,048,000 after purchasing an additional 959,269 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Unilever by 3.5% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,001,060 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,183,000 after purchasing an additional 133,776 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in Unilever by 0.5% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,293,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $195,221,000 after purchasing an additional 17,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Unilever by 2.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,642,973 shares of the company's stock valued at $156,675,000 after purchasing an additional 57,564 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unilever Price Performance

UL opened at $64.01 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a 12-month low of $61.78 and a 12-month high of $74.97. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $68.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.10.

Unilever (NYSE:UL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.75 by ($1.00). The company had revenue of $11.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.39 billion. Equities analysts predict that Unilever PLC will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a $0.5547 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on UL shares. UBS Group restated a "sell" rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Unilever from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Argus upgraded Unilever to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Kepler Capital Markets cut Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.55.

Unilever Company Profile

Unilever PLC is a global consumer goods company with roots dating back to the early 20th century, formed from the merger of the British firm Lever Brothers and the Dutch company Margarine Unie. The company develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of branded products in personal care, home care and foods and refreshments. Unilever's corporate structure and listings reflect its long history in both the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and it operates at scale across diverse consumer markets worldwide.

Unilever's business is organized around major product categories—Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care and Foods & Refreshment—and includes numerous well-known consumer brands across those categories.

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