Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) Shares Bought by Smartleaf Asset Management LLC

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 262.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,825 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,564 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,017,253,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214,563 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 66.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,454,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,881,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378,517 shares during the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 2,874,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,008,000 after acquiring an additional 207,549 shares during the last quarter. Equity Investment Corp raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 2,169,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,993,000 after acquiring an additional 36,922 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 3.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,812,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,588,000 after acquiring an additional 63,835 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada cut Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. DZ Bank raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.33.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of Unilever stock opened at $57.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $143.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.50. Unilever PLC has a fifty-two week low of $46.46 and a fifty-two week high of $65.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $56.60 and a 200 day moving average of $59.90.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.4674 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. Unilever’s payout ratio is 53.01%.

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.