Fiduciary Management Inc. WI Sells 154,958 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Fiduciary Management Inc. WI lessened its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,636,325 shares of the company’s stock after selling 154,958 shares during the period. Unilever accounts for approximately 1.9% of Fiduciary Management Inc. WI’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI owned 0.15% of Unilever worth $206,180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UL. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Unilever during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $176,806,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $153,606,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Unilever by 140.1% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,719,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,883,000 after buying an additional 2,170,242 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Unilever by 66.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,454,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,881,000 after buying an additional 1,378,517 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Unilever by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,017,253,000 after buying an additional 1,214,563 shares during the period. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UL opened at $63.79 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a 52-week low of $47.02 and a 52-week high of $65.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.28, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $58.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.82.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.4674 per share. This represents a $1.87 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s payout ratio is 53.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. DZ Bank raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com cut Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Unilever has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.33.

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.