JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd Raises Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd increased its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 664,094 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,281 shares during the quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd's holdings in Unilever were worth $37,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in UL. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Unilever by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,017,253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214,563 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Unilever by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,906,824 shares of the company's stock valued at $448,317,000 after acquiring an additional 257,538 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $289,345,000 after purchasing an additional 250,053 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Unilever by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,830,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $217,191,000 after purchasing an additional 327,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Unilever by 140.1% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,719,284 shares of the company's stock worth $210,883,000 after purchasing an additional 2,170,242 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UL opened at $62.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $154.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.44. Unilever PLC has a 1 year low of $53.50 and a 1 year high of $65.87. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $60.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.88.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.5151 dividend. This is a positive change from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Unilever's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. DZ Bank raised Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Unilever from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Unilever has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.50.

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.

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