Unilever (NYSE:UL) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $59.86, but opened at $62.35. Unilever shares last traded at $62.47, with a volume of 1,200,873 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UL has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Unilever presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.33.

Unilever Trading Down 3.8 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $58.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.12. The firm has a market cap of $149.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.4674 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.01%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unilever

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UL. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Unilever by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,017,253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214,563 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,906,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,317,000 after buying an additional 257,538 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Unilever by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,103,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,345,000 after buying an additional 250,053 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Unilever by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,830,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,191,000 after acquiring an additional 327,329 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Unilever by 140.1% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,719,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,883,000 after acquiring an additional 2,170,242 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

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.