Cullen Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Cullen Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,639,907 shares of the company’s stock after selling 101,360 shares during the quarter. Unilever accounts for approximately 1.7% of Cullen Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Cullen Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Unilever worth $149,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Unilever in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unilever in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised 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 Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.33.

Unilever Price Performance

UL stock opened at $60.16 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a 1 year low of $46.46 and a 1 year high of $65.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $58.01 and a 200 day moving average of $59.12. The company has a market cap of $149.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.4674 dividend. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.01%.

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.