DAVENPORT & Co LLC Acquires 21,313 Shares of Unilever PLC $UL

DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 37.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 78,400 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,313 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $5,127,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,665,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,054,973,000 after purchasing an additional 2,935,227 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Unilever by 4.4% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,537,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,336,048,000 after purchasing an additional 959,269 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Unilever by 1.6% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,773,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $342,261,000 after purchasing an additional 91,049 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Unilever by 3.5% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,001,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,183,000 after purchasing an additional 133,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Unilever by 0.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,293,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,221,000 after buying an additional 17,763 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Price Performance

NYSE:UL opened at $59.80 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a 1 year low of $59.75 and a 1 year high of $74.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $68.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.53.

Unilever (NYSE:UL) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $11.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.39 billion. Research analysts expect that Unilever PLC will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.5547 per share. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on UL shares. DZ Bank cut Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Unilever and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Unilever from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Unilever currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.55.

Unilever Profile

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.