Courier Capital LLC Lowers Stock Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

by · The Markets Daily

Courier Capital LLC decreased its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL – Free Report) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 59,685 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,300 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $3,384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Unilever by 7.1% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,726,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,086,547,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,177 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 26.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,384,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,145,000 after acquiring an additional 911,443 shares during the period. Saratoga Research & Investment Management increased its stake in Unilever by 0.8% in the second quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management now owns 2,767,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,169,000 after purchasing an additional 22,325 shares during the period. Hamlin Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 7.9% during the third quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 2,667,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,273,000 after acquiring an additional 194,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 1,884,216 shares in the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on UL shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.75.

Read Our Latest Research Report on UL

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UL traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $55.06. The company had a trading volume of 1,850,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,170,422. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $58.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.35. Unilever PLC has a one year low of $46.46 and a one year high of $65.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $136.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.58, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.49.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.4755 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. This is an increase from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Unilever’s payout ratio is presently 56.63%.

About Unilever

(Free Report)

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.

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