Moreno Evelyn V Increases Stock Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Moreno Evelyn V lifted its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,034 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the quarter. Moreno Evelyn V’s holdings in Unilever were worth $777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in 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. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at $1,131,000. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. increased its stake in shares of Unilever by 35.7% in the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 428,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,762,000 after acquiring an additional 112,677 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Group LLC lifted its position in Unilever by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 3,332,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,582,000 after purchasing an additional 47,256 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Unilever by 3,718.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 171,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,321,000 after purchasing an additional 167,146 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on UL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Unilever from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. 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 research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Argus upped their price target on Unilever from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of Unilever stock traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $54.58. 1,382,374 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,857,595. The business has a 50-day moving average of $50.34 and a 200 day moving average of $49.23. Unilever PLC has a fifty-two week low of $46.16 and a fifty-two week high of $54.98.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $0.4556 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%.

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.