Wedmont Private Capital Makes New $206,000 Investment in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new stake in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Unilever by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,494,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,672,275,000 after buying an additional 1,114,417 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unilever by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 10,843,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $525,716,000 after acquiring an additional 965,173 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Unilever by 5.3% during the 4th 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Unilever by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 3,819,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,664,000 after purchasing an additional 67,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Group LLC raised its holdings in Unilever by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 3,332,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,582,000 after purchasing an additional 47,256 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company’s stock.

Unilever Price Performance

NYSE:UL opened at $56.11 on Monday. Unilever PLC has a twelve month low of $46.16 and a twelve month high of $56.47. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $53.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.41.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a $0.4556 dividend. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut Unilever from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $52.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Unilever from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Unilever from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Unilever from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Unilever has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Unilever 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.