Blue Barn Wealth LLC Increases Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Blue Barn Wealth LLC increased its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,373 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 155.2% in the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 8,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 5,117 shares during the last quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC lifted 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 worth $1,749,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Unilever by 1.5% during the 4th 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 during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unilever in the 3rd quarter valued at $11,694,000. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Unilever by 236.2% during the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 30,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,997,000 after buying an additional 21,441 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of UL opened at $58.38 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.86. The stock has a market cap of $144.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. Unilever PLC has a 1-year low of $46.46 and a 1-year high of $65.87.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.4674 dividend. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s payout ratio is 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.