Ritholtz Wealth Management Has $2.14 Million Stock Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Ritholtz Wealth Management reduced its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 20.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,971 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,060 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Unilever were worth $2,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. May Hill Capital LLC bought a new position in Unilever in the fourth quarter worth about $296,000. Auxano Advisors LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Unilever by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 655,964 shares of the company's stock worth $37,193,000 after buying an additional 9,528 shares during the last quarter. Argent Trust Co increased its position in Unilever by 34.2% in the fourth 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, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at $11,895,000. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of UL traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $62.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,956,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,637,665. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $62.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.47. Unilever PLC has a fifty-two week low of $54.32 and a fifty-two week high of $65.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.43.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.5151 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This is a positive change from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Unilever's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on UL shares. DZ Bank raised shares of Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group raised Unilever from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on Unilever in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Unilever to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Unilever presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.