Guardian Capital LP Grows Stock Position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Guardian Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 151,115 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,653 shares during the quarter. Guardian Capital LP’s holdings in Unilever were worth $8,568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Unilever during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Unilever in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Price Performance

NYSE:UL opened at $63.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $155.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $59.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.83. Unilever PLC has a 1-year low of $51.45 and a 1-year high of $65.87.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.5151 dividend. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Unilever’s payout ratio is presently 59.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. DZ Bank raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.33.

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.