Ethic Inc. Trims Position in Unilever PLC $UL

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. reduced its Unilever stake by 16.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 18,216 shares and ending with 89,936 shares valued at about $5.88 million.
• Other institutional investors were mixed on the stock, with several increasing their positions; hedge funds and other institutions now own 9.67% of Unilever.
• Analyst sentiment is cautious overall: Unilever’s consensus rating is Hold with a target price of $65.55, while the stock also recently reported weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue.

Ethic Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 16.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 89,936 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,216 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Unilever were worth $5,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Unilever by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,572 shares of the company's stock valued at $599,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 35,007 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,085,000 after buying an additional 1,587 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 39.7% during the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 15,848 shares of the company's stock valued at $969,000 after buying an additional 4,501 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 70.5% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 378,313 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,141,000 after buying an additional 156,404 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 427,577 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,155,000 after buying an additional 63,376 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on UL shares. DZ Bank raised Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered Unilever from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Argus raised shares of Unilever to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Unilever from an "underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unilever currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.55.

Unilever Stock Performance

NYSE:UL opened at $58.38 on Monday. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $54.95 and a 52 week high of $74.97. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $61.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.42.

Unilever (NYSE:UL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($1.00). The company had revenue of $11.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.39 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Unilever PLC will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.5449 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th.

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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