Invesco Ltd. Sells 6,774 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Invesco Ltd. cut its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44,045 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,774 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd.'s holdings in Unilever were worth $2,497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Certior Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter worth $331,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Unilever by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 19,489 shares of the company's stock worth $1,105,000 after acquiring an additional 1,831 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at about $218,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Unilever by 9.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 296,176 shares of the company's stock worth $16,793,000 after acquiring an additional 119,438 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Unilever Price Performance

NYSE UL traded up $0.42 on Wednesday, reaching $63.56. The stock had a trading volume of 2,258,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,565,250. Unilever PLC has a 1-year low of $51.45 and a 1-year high of $65.87. The company has a market cap of $156.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $59.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.83.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.5151 dividend. This is a boost from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. Unilever's payout ratio is 59.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Unilever from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.33.

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.