D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Buys 916,246 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 592.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,070,818 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 916,246 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Unilever were worth $60,715,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Unilever Stock Down 1.1%

UL traded down $0.66 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $60.78. 2,691,425 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,526,069. The company has a market capitalization of $149.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $60.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.85. Unilever PLC has a fifty-two week low of $53.50 and a fifty-two week high of $65.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.5151 per share. This is a boost from Unilever's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. Unilever's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.03%.

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.