National Bank of Canada FI Has $20.56 Million Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

National Bank of Canada FI lessened its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 423,960 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,338 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Unilever were worth $20,556,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UL. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 672,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,239,000 after acquiring an additional 227,681 shares during the period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. boosted its holdings in Unilever by 35.7% during the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 428,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,762,000 after purchasing an additional 112,677 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 3,332,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,582,000 after buying an additional 47,256 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Unilever by 3,718.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 171,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,321,000 after buying an additional 167,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at $8,038,000. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on UL shares. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Unilever from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $48.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.00.

Unilever Trading Up 0.9 %

UL stock opened at $52.60 on Tuesday. Unilever PLC has a 1-year low of $46.16 and a 1-year high of $55.63. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $49.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.72.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.4556 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%.

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.