Unilever (NYSE:UL) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Unilever (NYSE:UL) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

UL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. Finally, CICC Research began coverage on Unilever in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Unilever has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.00.

Unilever Price Performance

NYSE:UL opened at $63.18 on Thursday. Unilever has a 12-month low of $54.32 and a 12-month high of $65.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.75 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.70.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.5175 per share. This represents a $2.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.31%.

Institutional Trading of Unilever

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UL. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after buying an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 24.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 13,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $782,000 after buying an additional 2,544 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Unilever by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 196,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,692,000 after buying an additional 39,877 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 1st quarter worth $471,000. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unilever in the 1st quarter worth $233,000. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

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.