Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 75.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 96,600 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 41,500 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC's holdings in Unilever were worth $5,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UL. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Unilever during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Unilever during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UL has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Unilever from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. UBS Group raised shares of Unilever from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. DZ Bank raised shares of Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Unilever from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.33.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of UL traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $63.94. The stock had a trading volume of 1,751,991 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,543,865. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $51.90 and a 12 month high of $65.87. The business has a fifty day moving average of $60.36 and a 200 day moving average of $58.81. The firm has a market cap of $157.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.32, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.44.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.5151 per share. This is a positive change from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Unilever's payout ratio is currently 59.03%.

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.