Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) Shares Purchased by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 43,385 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,905 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $2,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Unilever by 7.3% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Unilever by 66.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,454,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,881,000 after purchasing an additional 1,378,517 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at $176,806,000. Hamlin Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Unilever by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 2,874,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,008,000 after acquiring an additional 207,549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Equity Investment Corp lifted its position in shares of Unilever by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 2,169,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,993,000 after acquiring an additional 36,922 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on UL shares. DZ Bank upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.33.

Unilever Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE UL opened at $59.07 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $56.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.76. Unilever PLC has a twelve month low of $46.46 and a twelve month high of $65.87. The company has a market capitalization of $146.57 billion, a PE ratio of 16.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.4674 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.01%.

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.