Royce & Associates LP Increases Stock Holdings in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Unilever were worth $3,742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Unilever in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UL. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.33.

Unilever Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE UL opened at $58.91 on Thursday. Unilever PLC has a fifty-two week low of $46.46 and a fifty-two week high of $65.87. The stock has a market cap of $146.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a fifty day moving average of $57.15 and a 200-day moving average of $59.57.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.4674 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.01%.

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.