Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) Shares Bought by SPC Financial Inc.

SPC Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,258 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the quarter. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unilever by 981.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,076,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,868,000 after acquiring an additional 1,884,216 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,214,563 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Unilever by 493.4% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,105,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,785,000 after acquiring an additional 918,841 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unilever by 7,466.0% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 629,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,897,000 after acquiring an additional 621,248 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at $11,895,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Price Performance

NYSE:UL opened at $58.38 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $56.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.86. Unilever PLC has a 1-year low of $46.46 and a 1-year high of $65.87. The firm 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 Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.4674 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UL. DZ Bank raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. 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, 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. Two 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Unilever presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.33.

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.