Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC decreased its position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 56,128 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,134 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $2,721,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Unilever by 51.1% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 672,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,239,000 after acquiring an additional 227,681 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unilever by 1.4% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Unilever by 3,718.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 171,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,321,000 after buying an additional 167,146 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Unilever in the fourth quarter worth about $8,038,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Unilever by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 762,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,946,000 after acquiring an additional 98,275 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unilever Stock Performance

UL stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $51.80. 1,047,563 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,870,427. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50 day moving average of $49.12 and a 200-day moving average of $48.59. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $46.16 and a 52-week high of $55.77.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.4556 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Unilever from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $48.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.00.

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.