Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $283.52 Million Position in Unilever PLC $UL

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its stake in Unilever by 1.4% in Q3, selling 69,715 shares and now holding 4,782,828 shares valued at about $283.52 million.
• Unilever missed expectations in the most recent quarter, reporting EPS $0.75 vs. $1.75 expected and revenue of $11.87 billion vs. $31.39 billion estimated.
• Other institutional moves include Fisher Asset Management raising its stake to 22,537,917 shares (~$1.336 billion) and Thrivent Financial boosting its position by 13,906.2% to 2,268,300 shares after buying 2,252,105 shares.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,782,828 shares of the company's stock after selling 69,715 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.19% of Unilever worth $283,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Unilever by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,537,917 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,336,048,000 after buying an additional 959,269 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Unilever by 3.5% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,001,060 shares of the company's stock worth $237,183,000 after acquiring an additional 133,776 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 2.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,642,973 shares of the company's stock worth $156,675,000 after acquiring an additional 57,564 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Unilever in the second quarter valued at approximately $144,979,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Unilever by 13,906.2% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 2,268,300 shares of the company's stock worth $134,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,252,105 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UL opened at $66.81 on Monday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $68.57 and its 200 day moving average is $68.27. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $61.78 and a 52 week high of $74.97.

Unilever (NYSE:UL - Get Free Report) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.39 billion. On average, analysts predict that Unilever PLC will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.5547 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $60.10 price target on Unilever and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Unilever from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. DZ Bank lowered shares of Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane set a $71.00 target price on shares of Unilever and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently 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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