Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 23.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,606 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,461 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Unilever were worth $3,229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UL. TIAA Trust National Association bought a new position in Unilever in the third quarter valued at $566,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Unilever by 17.2% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 4,474 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Unilever by 0.7% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 88,330 shares of the company's stock worth $4,364,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Unilever by 32.0% during the third quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,809 shares of the company's stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 2,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choate Investment Advisors grew its stake in Unilever by 54.1% in the third quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 21,467 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,060,000 after purchasing an additional 7,539 shares in the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UL. StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Unilever from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $52.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Unilever from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unilever has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.00.

Unilever Stock Up 0.2 %

UL traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $53.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,061,035 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,688,188. The company's 50-day moving average is $49.55 and its 200-day moving average is $48.85. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $46.16 and a 52 week high of $54.38.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.4556 per share. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th.

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.