Hennessy Advisors Inc. Lowers Holdings in Unilever PLC $UL

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 15.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 81,444 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,356 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Unilever were worth $5,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Unilever during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates purchased a new position in Unilever during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in Unilever by 108.8% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 476 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Unilever during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Unilever during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Unilever to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. DZ Bank upgraded Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane set a $71.00 price target on Unilever and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.55.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of Unilever stock opened at $57.94 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.17. Unilever PLC has a 12 month low of $54.95 and a 12 month high of $74.97.

Unilever (NYSE:UL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($1.00). The business had revenue of $11.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.39 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Unilever PLC will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.5547 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%.

About Unilever

Unilever PLC is a global consumer goods company with roots dating back to the early 20th century, formed from the merger of the British firm Lever Brothers and the Dutch company Margarine Unie. The company develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of branded products in personal care, home care and foods and refreshments. Unilever’s corporate structure and listings reflect its long history in both the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and it operates at scale across diverse consumer markets worldwide.

Unilever’s business is organized around major product categories—Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care and Foods & Refreshment—and includes numerous well-known consumer brands across those categories.