International Assets Investment Management LLC Acquires 167,146 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 3,718.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 171,641 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 167,146 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC's holdings in Unilever were worth $8,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at $181,854,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at $169,744,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 1,869.4% in the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,519,198 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,442,059 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,748,095 shares of the company's stock valued at $234,556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,734 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 29.4% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,793,258 shares of the company's stock valued at $173,844,000 after purchasing an additional 861,988 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded Unilever from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Unilever Price Performance

UL stock traded down $0.89 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $46.76. 3,179,445 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,409,746. The firm's 50-day moving average is $49.52 and its 200-day moving average is $48.61. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $46.16 and a 12 month high of $55.99.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.4582 per share. This represents a $1.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd.

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.