St. James Investment Company LLC Lowers Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

St. James Investment Company LLC cut its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 651,918 shares of the company's stock after selling 81,205 shares during the quarter. Unilever makes up 5.1% of St. James Investment Company LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. St. James Investment Company LLC's holdings in Unilever were worth $31,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UL. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in Unilever by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 19,363,465 shares of the company's stock worth $1,005,545,000 after acquiring an additional 331,498 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Unilever by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,548,447 shares of the company's stock worth $422,293,000 after acquiring an additional 515,088 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Unilever by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,042,546 shares of the company's stock worth $229,988,000 after acquiring an additional 28,870 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Unilever by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,748,095 shares of the company's stock worth $234,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Unilever by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,252,118 shares of the company's stock worth $221,663,000 after acquiring an additional 70,737 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley downgraded Unilever from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.00.

Unilever Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE UL traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $46.48. The company had a trading volume of 2,911,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,721,315. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $46.16 and a 52 week high of $55.99. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.57.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.4582 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%.

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.