Argent Trust Co Grows Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Argent Trust Co increased its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL - Free Report) by 34.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,387 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,555 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co's holdings in Unilever were worth $2,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. May Hill Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unilever during the fourth quarter worth $296,000. Auxano Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 1.7% in 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 during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Unilever by 155.2% in the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 8,415 shares of the company's stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 5,117 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Unilever by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 655,964 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,193,000 after acquiring an additional 9,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC lifted its holdings in Unilever by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 43,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,452,000 after acquiring an additional 6,404 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.67% of the company's stock.

Unilever Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE UL traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $62.14. The stock had a trading volume of 3,318,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,615,161. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $58.22 and a 200-day moving average of $58.81. The firm has a market cap of $153.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.81, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.42. Unilever PLC has a fifty-two week low of $46.46 and a fifty-two week high of $65.87.

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Unilever Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.4674 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Unilever's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UL has been the subject of several recent research reports. DZ Bank raised shares of Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Unilever from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Unilever from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.33.

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.