Summit Global Investments Purchases 22,340 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Summit Global Investments lifted its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 58.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,779 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 22,340 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Unilever were worth $3,446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UL. Auxano Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unilever by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,749,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Unilever by 155.2% during the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 8,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 5,117 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 9,528 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unilever during the 3rd quarter worth $11,694,000. Finally, Choreo LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 6,404 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on UL shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, DZ Bank raised 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 given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.33.

Unilever Stock Performance

NYSE UL opened at $58.64 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a fifty-two week low of $46.46 and a fifty-two week high of $65.87. The stock has a market cap of $145.50 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $57.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.53.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company 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 $0.4674 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. Unilever’s payout ratio is presently 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.