Breakwater Capital Group Boosts Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Breakwater Capital Group grew its position in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,722 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Breakwater Capital Group’s holdings in Unilever were worth $381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UL. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Unilever by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 110,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,180,000 after buying an additional 15,941 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Unilever during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $11,694,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Unilever by 249.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,748,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,204,000 after buying an additional 1,248,136 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its position in Unilever by 236.2% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 30,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,997,000 after buying an additional 21,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 3rd quarter worth $1,388,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on UL shares. StockNews.com lowered Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.75.

Unilever Stock Performance

NYSE UL opened at $54.74 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $57.86 and its 200 day moving average is $60.35. Unilever PLC has a fifty-two week low of $46.46 and a fifty-two week high of $65.87. The company has a market capitalization of $135.64 billion, a PE ratio of 16.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.49.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.4755 dividend. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. This is an increase from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Unilever’s payout ratio is presently 56.63%.

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.