World Investment Advisors Boosts Stock Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 38.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 70,557 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,602 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Unilever were worth $4,001,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. May Hill Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter worth about $296,000. Auxano Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,749,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its stake in Unilever by 155.2% in the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 8,415 shares of the company's stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 5,117 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Unilever by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 655,964 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,193,000 after purchasing an additional 9,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC boosted its stake in Unilever by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 43,210 shares of the company's stock worth $2,452,000 after buying an additional 6,404 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on UL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada cut Unilever from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unilever has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.33.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of Unilever stock traded up $1.45 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $59.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,222,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,608,095. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $58.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.91. The stock has a market cap of $147.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42. Unilever PLC has a one year low of $46.46 and a one year high of $65.87.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.4674 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. Unilever's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.01%.

Unilever Company 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.