Cooke & Bieler LP Trims Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Cooke & Bieler LP lessened its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,056,241 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,764 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP’s holdings in Unilever were worth $59,889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UL. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Unilever by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163 shares during the period. Tyler Stone Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 6,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 3,198 shares during the period. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 129,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,425,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the period. Finally, TRU Independence Asset Management 2 LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unilever during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $395,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Unilever Stock Up 1.8 %

Unilever stock opened at $60.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $149.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.28, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. Unilever PLC has a twelve month low of $46.46 and a twelve month high of $65.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $56.76 and its 200 day moving average is $59.80.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.4674 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.01%.

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.