Fermata Advisors LLC Takes Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Fermata Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,134 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $306,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of UL. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Unilever by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company's stock worth $1,017,253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214,563 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Unilever by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,906,824 shares of the company's stock worth $448,317,000 after purchasing an additional 257,538 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,103,075 shares of the company's stock worth $289,345,000 after acquiring an additional 250,053 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,830,532 shares of the company's stock worth $217,191,000 after acquiring an additional 327,329 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 140.1% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,719,284 shares of the company's stock worth $210,883,000 after acquiring an additional 2,170,242 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of UL opened at $63.09 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a 1 year low of $54.32 and a 1 year high of $65.87. The company has a market cap of $155.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $62.34 and a 200-day moving average of $59.26.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.5151 dividend. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. This is an increase from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Unilever's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UL. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Unilever in a report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Unilever to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Unilever from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.67.

About Unilever

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.

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