Aquatic Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Unilever PLC $UL

Aquatic Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 56.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,639 shares of the company’s stock after selling 117,548 shares during the quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $5,373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Unilever by 9.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,935,227 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 4.4% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 17,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Unilever by 2.2% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,642,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,675,000 after purchasing an additional 57,564 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unilever Stock Performance

Shares of UL opened at $65.44 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $68.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.05. Unilever PLC has a 12-month low of $61.78 and a 12-month high of $74.97.

Unilever (NYSE:UL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by ($1.00). The firm had revenue of $11.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.39 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Unilever PLC will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders 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 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on UL. Argus raised Unilever to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Kepler Capital Markets cut shares of Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Unilever in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.55.

Unilever Company 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.