Unilever (NYSE:UL) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $57.71, but opened at $58.89. Unilever shares last traded at $58.93, with a volume of 602,560 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UL. StockNews.com downgraded Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.33.

Unilever Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $56.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.74, a PEG 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.4674 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.01%.

Institutional Trading of Unilever

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at $176,806,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $153,606,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 140.1% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,719,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,883,000 after acquiring an additional 2,170,242 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Unilever by 981.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,076,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,868,000 after acquiring an additional 1,884,216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unilever by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,017,253,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214,563 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Unilever

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.