StockNews.com Lowers Unilever (NYSE:UL) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Unilever (NYSE:UL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning.

Separately, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Unilever from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and dropped their target price for the company from $52.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unilever presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $48.00.

Unilever Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE UL opened at $47.98 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $49.12 and its 200-day moving average is $48.52. Unilever has a one year low of $46.16 and a one year high of $55.99.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.4582 per share. This represents a $1.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unilever

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of UL. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Unilever by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,494,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,672,275,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,417 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,843,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $525,716,000 after buying an additional 965,173 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 6.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,548,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,293,000 after buying an additional 515,088 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Unilever by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 6,548,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,459,000 after acquiring an additional 329,705 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Unilever by 35.3% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,748,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238,734 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

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.