Guardian Partners Inc. Makes New Investment in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new position in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 50,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,841,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Auxano Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Unilever by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 30,840 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,749,000 after buying an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its position in Unilever by 155.2% during the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 8,415 shares of the company's stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 5,117 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unilever by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 655,964 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,193,000 after purchasing an additional 9,528 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unilever in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,694,000. Finally, Choreo LLC increased its position in shares of Unilever by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 43,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,452,000 after purchasing an additional 6,404 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Unilever from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.33.

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Unilever Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UL traded up $0.36 during trading on Thursday, reaching $58.55. 698,982 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,550,352. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $57.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.34. Unilever PLC has a 12-month low of $46.46 and a 12-month high of $65.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.4674 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. Unilever's payout ratio is currently 53.01%.

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.