Private Trust Co. NA Acquires 575 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 9,252 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 575 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Unilever were worth $525,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of UL. Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Unilever by 155.2% during the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 8,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 5,117 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Unilever by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 655,964 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,193,000 after buying an additional 9,528 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Unilever during the third quarter worth $11,694,000. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Unilever by 236.2% during the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 30,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,997,000 after buying an additional 21,441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Unilever during the third quarter worth $1,388,000. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:UL opened at $56.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.22, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.93. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $46.46 and a 12 month high of $65.87.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.4674 per share. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s payout ratio is presently 53.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on UL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.33.

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.