Bailard Inc. Boosts Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Bailard Inc. increased its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,635 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 643 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UL. Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 155.2% in the fourth 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 holdings in Unilever by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 655,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,193,000 after acquiring an additional 9,528 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Unilever in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $11,694,000. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Unilever by 236.2% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 30,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,997,000 after purchasing an additional 21,441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Unilever during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,388,000. 9.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Unilever Stock Up 2.0 %

NYSE UL opened at $57.74 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $56.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.90. Unilever PLC has a 52 week low of $46.46 and a 52 week high of $65.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $143.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.54, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.50.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.4674 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.